Woken from Exile
by Deus Swiftblade
Summary: Naruto quit the life of Shinobi after being exiled from Konoha,but six years later they come back and do something that shatters his definition of what is real and what is not. What will Naruto do when all that he knows was a lie?
1. Prelude

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Matrix

Woken from exile

Prelude: Exile and later years

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Bijū/machine talking"**

"_**Bijū/machine thinking"**_

Messages/Intercom/Transmissions

(Location: Konoha Council room)

Naruto looked at the person sitting in the Hokage's chair with shock on his face. "What did you say, Granny Tsunade?" He asked. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

Tsunade looked at the person standing in the middle of the council floor. "I said that from this day forth, you, Genin Naruto Uzumaki, are banished from the village of Konoha!" She stated in a clear voice. "You will turn in your headband right now and leave the village immediately!"

He looked around the council room and saw the rest of the Konoha Twelve standing up against the walls. "Come on guys." He said with a pleading tone in his voice. "Help me out here. I brought Sasuke back to the village, didn't I?"

The retrieval team looked away while the rest looked at him with disappointed looks. Sakura, however, looked at him with sheer rage. "YOU BROUGHT SASUKE BACK HALF-DEAD, YOU BAKA!" She shouted at him. "I ASK YOU TO BRING HIM BACK AND YOU BREAK HIS LEGS AND ALMOST KILL HIM!" She stopped to take a breath, glaring daggers at her teammate. While she did, the civilian council members decided to give their opinion.

"Miss Haruno is quite right." One of them said. "We have always known how you hated the last loyal Uchiha, demon. We had just thought that you would fight him fairly, not use the fox's chakra to try and kill him."

Naruto looked up at the council member with anger. "I had no choice in the matter! Sasuke had used the Cursed Seal and would have—" He tried to tell them. But he didn't get far.

"SILENCE!" roared Tsunade. "This matter has been backed by the Fire Daimyo and is now closed." She looked at Naruto with cold hard eyes. "In addition, with consent from Jiraiya and the toad elders, your name has been stricken from the Toad Summoning Scroll. But we will be merciful and will not seal your chakra away. However, if you ever try to return to the village, you are to be killed on site." He was suddenly held by two ANBU, making it sure that he could not escape. While he tried to wiggle loose, she appeared in front of him and ripped his headband from his forehead. "This will be given to a more loyal Konoha shinobi." She told him. Then, without warning, she yanked the Shodaime's necklace from his neck. "I am also taking my Grandfather's necklace back. ANBU, take the exiled to the gates of Konoha and make sure he does not try to come back inside."

(Location: Konoha's gate)

Naruto looked back at Konoha, he saw all the civilians and the shinobi celebrating in the streets because they had finally got rid of the "demon brat" (the council had decided to tell the village the truth about the Kyūbi). It led to him being heckled, cursed at, and become the target of many thrown objects. By the time they had reached the gate, he had bruises all over his bare skin (which were rapidly healing, but they were still there) and what hadn't been bruised, was covered in fruit juices, drinks, rotten vegetables, and anything they could get their hands on that left a stain. It dripped to the ground from everywhere, from his clothes, his hands, his feet, and his hair.

But there was no sympathy from his escort. "Get the fuck out of here, demon!" One of the ANBU told him, kicking him hard in the back. It sent him sprawling into the earth, his body engulfed in pain. Tears began to well up in his eyes. Everything hurt. Not just his body, but everything. Everything hurt. But he couldn't just stay on the ground. The people watching him wouldn't like it. "Hey, if you get out of here, demon, we'll start 'encouraging' you." The voice of the ANBU said. A shuriken imbedded itself into the ground, right next to the blonde's head.

He quickly leapt up and started running, kunai and shuriken right behind him. He didn't stop and he didn't look back. He just kept running with the laughter of the ANBU and the celebrating of the village echoing in his ears. As he fled the village of Konoha, covered in stains, bruises, and juices, smelling and looking horribly, the tears fell from his face.

(Location: a forest somewhere in the Land of Fire)

He woke up in the shade of a tree. "It's been sometime since I dreamed of that day." He mused. At first, the nightmare of that day haunted him every night. But, as he grew use to his exile, they dwindled down to a rarity. It would surprise him nowadays when he did have them. Stretching slightly to loosen up his muscles, he reached for his pack and pulled out some food. He began to eat the stuff, having a cold breakfast

He had changed in the six years since he was exiled from Konoha. Left with very little money (almost nonexistent would probably be more polite), he had been forced to all but give up his addiction to ramen and eat better food. As a result, he now stood at a more respectable height. He had also gotten rid of all the orange he wore, trading it all in for clothes in more subdued colors and a traveler's cloak. He figured that if he did that, people wouldn't recognize him. He forced himself to stop being hyperactive about everything and made himself learn to control his temper. Because of that, people now saw him as a calm person who never lost his temper.

But he had made one decision that would have shocked the people who once knew him: he had decided quit being a shinobi. He figured that if he continued to be a shinobi, he would be hunted relentlessly by Konoha, who probably would make sure that he would be dead. He had also lost his trust in the villages themselves, making him choose to stay away from them most of the time (he did pay an occasional visit to Gaara and his siblings in Suna). So he learned how to suppress his chakra and left it at that. With that learnt, he chose to wander around the Elemental Countries, taking odd jobs here and there to make sure he had enough money to keep food in his pack.

"**Hey, kit, what are you thinking?" **TheKyūbi asked from within Naruto. The fox had been surprised at what his Jinchūriki had done after being exiled. But he decided chose not to say anything about it. Naruto had made his choice, and he was along for the repercussions. As it turned out, the Kyūbi was a good traveling companion for the blonde, always giving advice that got them out of more than one hairy situation with shinobi that were looking for them and always ready with a quip full of sarcasm.

"Nothing much, furball," Naruto replied as he finished off his breakfast." Just thinking about the day I was exiled, that's all."

"**Oh. That dream again, huh?" **The fox asked him.

"Yeah," He said shortly. "That dream again."

"**How long has it been since you had it last?"**

"Don't know, don't care." He stood up, kicked apart the remnants of last night's fire, and reached for his pack. As he slugged it across his shoulder, his vision turned odd for a brief moment. In that moment, everything was tinted green. Not that everything was tinted the exact same shade of green, but the word could be used to describe all the different versions of the color he saw. Then he blinked and the world went back to normal. "That was weird." He muttered.

"**What's the matter, gaki?"** The Kyūbi asked him.

"It's nothing. My eyes went odd on me for a moment." He frowned slightly. _"I had thought that stopped a long time ago."_ He thought to himself. Well, at least it wasn't as bad as what happened to him when he was younger. He had thought he was losing his mind then.

"**Well, if it's nothing, then I shouldn't care. Let me know when more of nothing shows itself."** The fox told him. Then he closed his eyes and began to snore again, finishing the rest of his sleep.

He gave a small laugh "Typical of the furball, one sarcastic quip, and he's back to la-la land." He double-checked the pack onto his shoulder, making sure that it was on securely. Once he was satisfied, he left what remained of his campsite and walked through the forest. Soon, he was out of there and stood before a crossroads. "Now which way should we go?" He wondered to himself as he looked at the signs.

**Incoming transmission (Konoha)**

"Hey Slug, are you getting this?"

"Yes Toad, I am receiving. Any sign of him?"

"No luck on my end. How about the others, did they find hm?"

"Smoker reported back with Shadow, Eater, and Walker. According to the report, they missed him by two weeks."

"The kid must have gotten good. What about Queen's team?"

"Queen also reported back with Hime, Bone, and Hive. Apparently, they missed him by two days and one of those days was because of a rainstorm."

"Missed him by dumb luck, huh?"

"Yeah, but we almost made contact with him through Beast's team."

"What happened?"

"From what they told me, he saw Weapon, Fate, and Rock in a bar, started a fight, and snuck out during the confusion."

"How bad was it?"

"The three of them made it out of there easily enough. But they couldn't find him afterwards."

"Damn, so close but still no good. How are Needle and Little Snake doing?"

"They're doing okay, but I am starting to worry about Teacher."

"We all want to see the kid again. It was a mistake to let him leave like that."

"I feel so bad about doing that to him."

"I do too. By the way, I've gotten a report from Cyclops and his team."

"What is it?"

"He has found the kid and is tracking him with Cherry and Raven."

"That's good to hear. Do you think Cherry will be able to confess her feelings to him?"

"It took her long enough to realize it. Anyway, I'm meeting up with Papa Snake. Once we meet up, we'll join Cyclops and then we will make contact with the kid."

"Do that. If he tries to run, make sure to contain him."

"Understood, what if he doesn't want to come with us?"

"At this point I don't care. I want my little gaki back. If he tries to escape, we will not give him the choice."

"Are you insane?! You can be executed for that kind of action!"

"You have your orders, Toad. Carry them out."

"Understood, Slug, but I don't like this idea. Besides, you know we won't be allowed to keep him. You know the law."

"He belongs with us."

**End Transmission (Konoha)**

**Transmission ended**

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

I'm sorry that I took so long to get back to this. But now, I am back. And with any luck, a long stretch like that won't happen again in the near future (no promises with the sequel to _Bodyguard of Azula_).

I'll see you all next chapter!


	2. Capture and Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Matrix

Woken from exile

Chapter 1: Capture and Awakening

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Bijū/machine talking"**

"_**Bijū/machine thinking"**_

Messages/Intercom/Transmissions

(Location: Land of Fire)

Naruto walked into the town, completely wiped out. _"Okay, trying to swim that river, not one of my better ideas!" _He berated himself. What was he thinking when he did that? He was almost certain he wasn't!

"**I told you not swim it. I told you to walk on the water." **The Kyūbi said with exasperation. His Jinchūriki was prone to do stuff like that when he thought had no choice.

"Oh, shut up, fox." Naruto said, annoyed. "You and I both know if I had done that, whoever is on my tail would have noticed my chakra signature and would've known where to go." If that hadn't been a problem, he would've gladly walked over the river like it was a road.

For some time now, there was a squad of shinobi who were trying to track him. Both he and the Kyūbi had a suspicion about it when they came to another town that they been in before and were told that there was group of shinobi who were there the day before, looking for him. Their suspicion grew when, traveling in a forest, they heard a howl that sounded like it belonged to an Inuzuka hound. When Naruto heard the howl, he decided to pick up the pace. He managed to put some distance between him and whoever it was following him due to a rainstorm. When he felt the rain begin to fall, he didn't stop, he pressed on and managed to make it to the nearest town, which was also a seaport. After the storm had passed, he got a job working as a deckhand on ship that was sailing to the Land of Water.

Their suspicions were confirmed the time Naruto had been working in a bar. Three Konoha shinobi came in, sat down at the bar, and started talking about finding Naruto. The blonde in question saw them sitting in there, with their backs turned to him. He kept his head down, grabbed a few drinks, headed in one direction, and then proceeded to start a fight at the end of the bar. When it had gotten into full swing, with the three shinobi in the middle of it, he snuck out the back door and then bolted straight out of town. By the time the bar fight had stopped, he wasn't anywhere near the place.

"**You know, that one shinobi looked exactly like**—**"** The Kyūbi began to say. But before he could finish, he was cut off.

"Don't say it, furball!" Naruto snarled at him. "I don't want to know who the hell is coming after me. I just want to make sure I can lose them!"

The fox looked at his host from his cage. **"You can't deny it, kit." **He said after Naruto had calmed down. **"You and I both know it was that Konoha shinobi who keeps going on about the springtime of youth, the younger one." **Naruto kept silent, which made the Bijū continue with his train of thought. **"And if it was that same little weirdo, then we both know what that means." **

(Flashback)

Naruto was reading the newspaper while eating lunch at a tavern somewhere in the Land of Earth (he had forgotten the exact place). The front page headline read:

Hokage creates new group made of talented Chūnin and Jōnin

Apparently, the Konoha Eleven had been made into a special ops group along with their teachers. This group would work together on all missions and someday, one of the members would become the next Hokage. The rest of the story focused more on figuring out who would be the next Hokage.

"**Well, kit."** The Kyūbi said after reading the paper himself. **"How do you feel about that, does that make you want to train as a shinobi? Will you train to prove that you can better than them?" **

Naruto snorted in derision and began to crumble the paper up. "I told you before, Kyūbi." He said as he tossed the paper into the nearby fireplace. "I don't care what Konoha does. I am only training to keep my chakra suppressed. After that, I'm done and I can wonder around the countries to my heart's content."

The fox shook his head at what his Jinchūriki said. _**"You're hiding kit. You're hiding from the fact that this hurts you and you just don't want to admit it."**_ He could feel those emotions swirl around inside the blonde as he got up and left the tavern.

(End Flashback)

"**If it is them, then you know that it's the same group tracking us, they've just been switching teams to collect information and to catch a breath." **The Bijū stated as Naruto dragged himself to the local inn.

After he paid for his room, he went down to the local hot springs and submersed himself into the steaming water, groaning in relief as his muscles were soothed by the water. "If it is them, and that's a big 'if', we're going to be extra careful these next few months. With any luck they will give up the chase and leave us alone." He said as he felt himself relax after a long day of swimming and hard walking.

"**Why are you still running kit?" **The Kyūbi asked him. **"Have you ever considered the fact that Konoha just might want you back?" **

Naruto let out short bark of laughter. "Of course they want me back, furball. They'll just let me walk right back in to the village, no problem whatsoever. You know what? They might just let me join that special ops group that the Hokage created." Naruto said sarcastically.

"**All right, I get your point." **He said with a frown. **"What, pray tell, is your plan exactly?"**

He gave it a bit of thought. "We go about our travels like normal but if we see any Konoha shinobi in any town we come across, we get out of there. Sound like a plan to you?" He asked as he got out of the hot springs and went back to his room.

"…**It's the only plan we have, isn't it?" **The Bijū asked after a few moments of silence.

"Finally, we have agreed on something!" He said with false joy. "Look, if you come up with anything better, tell me in the morning. Right now, I just want to get some sleep." And with that said, he got into the bed and promptly fell asleep.

The Kyūbi watch his Jinchūriki sleep peacefully. _**"I hope for both of our sakes you're right, kit." **_He thought as he also began to go to sleep. _**"If it turns you're wrong about them giving up on you, then we may be in trouble a lot more sooner than either of us anticipated." **_

* * *

><p>The next morning, Naruto woke up with better focus then when he went to bed. He decided to look around the town because he had never been there before, after grabbing some dango for breakfast Naruto left the inn to explore.<p>

"_Hey, Kyūbi,"_ Naruto said mentally as he walked down the street (it was a rule he tried to keep to: talk aloud when alone, talk silently when not). "Did you come up with a better plan?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

The fox had to restrain the urge to start banging his head against the cage. **"Of course I didn't, you baka!" **He yelled at his Jinchūriki. Why would he when they already had a plan?!

The blonde winced at the sound of Kyūbi yelling at him. _"Okay, A: turn down the volume, alright?"_ He said as he checked out the food markets. _"B: I thought you would actually come up with a plan."_ He had seen no reason that the fox wouldn't try to think of something.

The fox growled in annoyance. **"No, I don't have a better plan. Now go get lunch. It's noon for Kami's sake. And make sure you get something filling." **He ordered his Jinchūriki.

"_Not a bad idea."_ He started walk away from the markets, but froze as the words repeated themselves in his head. "_Hey, wait a minute, when did you start caring about when and what I eat?"_ He asked the fox.

"**Since that time you had that idea to fast for two weeks and I quote 'see what happens'." **The Kyūbi replied with a smirk.

The blonde flinched at what the fox said. _"I thought we agreed to never speak of that again."_ He growled in a low tone.

"**We did, but that doesn't mean I am going to stop reminding you of it."**

"_Shut up, you damn furball."_ He ordered._ "I don't even want to think about it."_

"**If you say so, I still wonder if that town still has that statue of you jumping into a giant bowl of food, or if that country still celebrates**—**"**

"_Alright, alright, I get it! Look, there is a barbecue place right over there. Are you happy now?!"_

"**For now, although it's good to know I have blackmail material on you kit and I do plan to use it." **The Bijū stated with anevil grin.

"_There are days I truly hate you, damn furball. This would be one of those days."_

"**Love you too, kit."**

He was silently swearing at the fox when he walked into the barbecue place. He didn't know why he had decided to fast or what had happened afterwards. His few hazy memories showed that he had attacked an invading army just to get at their food and him charging into a forest yelling "RAMENNNNNN!" at the top of his voice. When he was fully conscious again, he learned that where he had attacked the army used to be a giant field. After he was done, there was a huge lake in the same spot with a small hill right in the middle. He also learned that where the forest was, there was a big town that made that statue of him jumping into the bowl. And apparently, those were only two spots on a large list where he visited after the fast. "_That's eight months of my life that I don't want know about!" _He thought as he sat himself down and ordered some food.

* * *

><p>The three people stood outside looking at the place. "Raven, Cherry," The tallest of the three said looking at the other two. "Remember, if he runs, we contact Toad and Papa Snake, and then we capture him. Understood?"<p>

"Understood, Cyclops," They replied.

"Good." They went into the building.

* * *

><p>Naruto was happily enjoying his meal. "This place has some good barbecue." He declared to the fox. He had to make a note to come back to this place at some point in the future.<p>

The Kyūbi, however, was paying attention to something. **"Kit, don't move and don't react. Just keep eating your food." **He told his Jinchūriki, his voice full of seriousness.

"_What's the problem, Kyūbi?"_ He mentally asked as he kept eating his food, focusing on it. When the fox talked like that, it was best to pay attention.

"**To your right and behind you, there are three shinobi sitting and watching you."**

"_So? This is just another tracker squad. All we have to do is—"_

"**Kit, I'm not done."** The fox interrupted him.** "This isn't just another tracker squad."**

"_What the hell are you talking, Kyūbi?"_

"**The shinobi to your right, he has silver hair and he doesn't look like an old man."**

The blonde managed to keep it off of his face but he was shocked by what he heard. "_It can't be him."_ He tried to protest._ "Are you sure it's—"_

"**I'm not joking around here, gaki."** The fox interrupted him again. "**It **_**is**_** him. And if he's here, you know who the other two are.**

"_Damn it!"_ He silently swore. Of all the people that could've come after him, he never wanted to run into them. He had to get out of there, now. _"What are my options?"_

"**There is a back door I saw when we came in, but I don't see a reasonable excuse to go that way. The bathrooms are close to the back door, but we can't hold out there for long and the window in there will take too long to open. Of** **course, there is always the front door."**

"_Okay, my bet is that they expect me to do the unexpected."_ He had been known to do that when he was a shinobi. But he attributed that to the fact he was hyperactive and tended to charge head first into things. But that wasn't him anymore.

"**So what is the plan?"**

He took a drink out of his cup, finishing it off. _"Simple."_ He put the drink down on the table. _"I'm going to do the excepted and then go from there."_

"**I have one question: how exactly do you plan to evade **_**these**_** people? They know you for the love of Kami!" **The Bijū demanded.

"_They knew the old me. We can use that to our advantage. And even if I did stop being a shinobi, I never stopped using that particular jutsu."_ It had helped him get out of a few sticky situations in the past.

The fox understood what he was planning.** "Okay, that can work. When do you plan to move?"**

"_Right now,"_ He got out of his chair and began to make his way to the door.

* * *

><p>They watched Naruto like a hawk tracking its next meal, their eyes following every movement he made. "So what do you think he will do?" Cherry whispered to Raven, trying to avoid using a loud voice and arousing any suspicion.<p>

He looked at their target. "I think he will try to use the back door and escaped into the woods." He replied in a whisper as well. They had made it obvious for Naruto to see them when they came in. But instead of chasing after him once he ran, they would let him think he was safe before pouncing.

"Me too, but Cyclops thinks he will try to use the bathroom to escape." She had considered that possibility but dismissed it because it wasn't something the blonde would do

He smirked. "Well it's a good thing we wired both place with knockout seals. Out of curiosity, how much did you bet Cyclops?" It was something the three of them did before following Naruto into the restaurant. They had scooped out the place mere minutes before he had gone in and made bets as to what he would do.

"My extra pillow," She answered. "What did you bet?"

"My turn at night watch," He replied. "If I win, Cyclops has to do both his and mine."

"You sure are con…." Cherry trailed off, her attention going back to their target. "He's moving."

Raven watched their target as he made his way out of the restaurant, telling the cook that was some of the best food he ever had. "He's going for the back door, I knew it"

"Yeah, he is going for the…" They both watch as Naruto walk past the back door. "What is he doing?!" Cherry demanded. _"Why is he walking past the back door?"_ She silently demanded.

"I don't know! And he's not going to the bathroom, either!" The blonde had just walked past that as well.

"Well, the only other way out other those two is the…" Realization showed on their faces as they looked at each other. "Do you think Cyclops figured it out?" She asked Raven as they watched Naruto walked out the front door.

Raven looked over at Cyclops, he nodded and signaled them to pursue. "Let's move." He said to her and all three of them hurried to follow Naruto. As they left the restaurant, they looked around to find their target. They spotted him heading down the street to the town square. They went after him, but when they got there, they lost sight of him. "Where is he? We can't afford to lose him!" Cherry said as she looked around, trying to see past all the people in the square.

"There he is! He's coming this way." Raven said as they saw Naruto coming their way, walking down the road like there was nothing wrong. "No, wait, there he is. He is heading east." They turned and saw another Naruto heading a different way out of the square.

"No, he is going that way, moving to the north." Cherry pointed at a third Naruto heading out of the square in a completely different direction.

"It appears that Naruto is trying to elude and deceive us." Cyclops said calmly as they spotted a fourth Naruto heading west. They saw four different versions of the blonde, all heading in different directions, and they only numbered three.

"Damn. Cyclops, any chance we can use your tracker dogs?" Raven asked

"Wouldn't work," He answered with a shake of his head. "Naruto's scent would be on the clones. So using the dogs would be useless."

"Well, he's not stupid enough to walk right towards us. So that must be one of the clones." Cherry stated with certainty as she watched the Naruto who was walking their way. The blonde might've a little slow with a few things back in the day, but he was never this stupid. It had to be a clone

Cyclops nodded in agreement. "Cherry, you take the one heading east. Raven, take the one heading west. I'll take the one heading north." The two nodded in acknowledgement. They then each went after their own targets.

(Location: Naruto)

"**They bought it. I can't believe they bought it." **The Kyūbi said with his mouth hanging wide open. He had been sure that they would see right through what his Jinchūriki had done, but they bought it.

Naruto smiled. _"I told you it would work."_ He stated as he continued to walk down the road, not looking back. The so-called clone that Cherry said "could not be Naruto" was indeed Naruto who was actually counting that frame of mind.

"**Okay, I am impressed. Now what do you plan to do?"**

"_Do you remember the 'getting out' part of the plan we talked about last night?"_ He asked.

"**Yeah, when do you plan to use that part?"**

Suddenly they both heard a noise that sounded like a crater being formed and a lot of angry yelling. _"How about right now?"_ asked Naruto, suddenly fearful for his life.

"**Yeah, now sounds like a good idea."** TheKyūbi said in deadpan. His Jinchūriki began to run like his life depended on it (which, quite frankly, it did).

(Location: Cherry)

She was yelling cruses that would have made even the worst of criminals try to wash her mouth out. "Damn it!" She cried angrily as she went for the wireless she had around her neck. "Cyclops, Raven, this is Cherry. The Naruto I was following was a clone. Did either of you get him?"

"Negative, I got a clone as well. How about you, Cyclops?" asked Raven.

"It seems like that I was following a clone as well." Cyclops answered with humor in his voice. Apparently, he was the only one who was currently finding this funny.

"Then that means…" He trailed off as the truth came to them.

"He walked past us. He walked right past us and we thought it was a clone!" Sakura growled in anger. They had been duped!

"Calm down, Cherry. Please remember that we are not alone here." Cyclops said with laid-back confidence. She did as she was told, remembering where they were. "Now, regroup at my position at the northern end of town." As Cherry and Raven did as instructed, he changed the wirelesses frequency in order to contact someone else. "This is Cyclops calling Toad and Papa Snake. The target has avoided the trap and is now heading south out of town. Please move to intercept, we will join you shortly." He stated in a precise tone.

A voice came back. "This is Papa Snake, we acknowledge, but request that you pull back in order to set up the system. We'll take it from here." It said as Raven and Cherry found him and moved to his side.

"Understood, Papa Snake, Cyclops out," He finished the conversation, turning off the wireless.

"Why do we have to pull back? The other teams are in place to set up the system and we know where he is going! We can still—" Cherry try to say, only to get cut off by Cyclops.

"That's enough! We were given orders and so we'll follow those orders!" He barked at her. She flinched back at his harsh words. When he saw the sad look on her face, he decided to be less harsh. "I'm sorry, Cherry. But look at it this way." He told her. "If this works out, you'll be able to meet him for real and not in here."

She looked at him with a small smile. "I know. It's just that I want to see him again." She had been such an idiot when she had been younger, not realizing what she had until it had been too late. Now she has a chance to make things better.

Raven decided to get back on topic. "We need to move out and get ready." He reminded them. The other two nodded their agreement. They moved to a different location, doing as instructed.

(Location: Naruto)

He ran hard until he gotten into the forest and finally stopped to catch a breath. _"It's been sometime since I ran that hard."_ He thought to himself as he panted slightly.

But while he got his breath back, the Kyūbi kept searching the forest to see if the team had caught up with them. **"You got lucky by getting a head start. But why they aren't following us? They could have easily overtaken you if you were still in the town. But they didn't pursue us."**

"What are you talking about? We lost them, didn't we?" Naruto demanded, his breath coming back to him.

"**You know that Konoha shinobi don't give a chase that easily. The only reason I can think of is that…kit! Behind you!" **yelled out the Bijū in alarm.

He spun around, ready to face whoever it was. But instead, he was hit in the neck by a tranquilizer dart, making his body go numb. As he fell to the ground and started to lose conscious he looked up and saw someone he never wanted to see. "Not you, please anybody but you." He slurred before finally falling sleep.

"Well that's a fine how-do-you-do from my apprentice." The person he had spoken to commented.

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up with a headache and questions. When he looked around to see where he was, all he could see was a room that had several computers. But these computers were far more advance then the ones he saw a couple of years ago. These looked they could move around and looked slimmer than the prototypes he was shown. But what caught his eye was at each computer was a person he recognized. More importantly, the people at the computers were all from Konoha.<p>

"_I gotta get out of here!"_ He thought in a panic. He tried to move, but couldn't. He was strapped into a chair and could not move. His mouth was covered in duct tape, making it impossible to say anything. There were also wires attached to him, hooking him up to machines.

His struggling brought the attention of the two people who were not at a computer. "Ah, you're awake now." The man Naruto once knew as a sensei said, coming over to stand before the chair. "You have gotten very good these past few years, Naruto, being able to avoid us for so long. But thankfully that ends today." The only replay Naruto could give was a glare that could have melted ice. "Now don't give that look. Here's the thing, Naruto, we have to show you something and the only way we could do that was to choose for you instead of letting you choose. You're strapped to the chair because we know you would run if given the chance. Therefore, measures had to be taken to make sure you did not leave."

This all flew past Naruto as he tried to talk to Kyūbi with his thoughts. _"Help me out here, fox!" _He yelled into his mind. _"We could be in some trouble here!"_

While Naruto was talking to the fox, the people at the computers were doing their jobs. "Still no sign of Sentinels in the west or south tunnels," Smoker said from his chair, the smoke from the cigarette in his mouth hanging over his head.

"No sign of Sentinels in the east or north tunnels either, looks like we are free and clear for now." Queen stated from where she sat, which was near to Smoke.

"Good," Papa Snake said. "Beast, how are we on finding his location?" He asked another person.

"It might take some time, they buried him pretty deep." The guy said without looking away from his computer. He focused on the screen in front of him.

"_Why would they need to find me? I am right here." _Naruto thought. It made no sense to him. _"Kyūbi, come on! I need help!"_ He had to get free and the fox was his only chance now.

But the Bijū had seen everything that was going on and had a different reaction to it. **"Don't try to struggle, kit."** He told his Jinchūriki in a calm voice. **"Things will go a lot smoother if you don't struggle."**

"_WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"_

"Cyclops, are there any Agents out there?" Toad asked the man via the wireless radio.

"None so far, the jammer is working pretty well." The answer came back.

"Good to hear. Teacher, did you find the release codes?" That was asked to a man who was sitting at his computer, running through his hacker codes in order to be sure.

Once it was confirmed, he looked up from his screen. "Yeah, I have the codes. Now Beast just needs to find him. Once he does that, I can send the codes to the _Konoha_ and Shadow will be able to unplug him."

"_That doesn't sound good!" _Naruto thought as he struggled to get out of the chair. _"Help me out here, Kyūbi, please!"_ He was beginning to get scared of what was going to happen.

"**Even if there's something I could do, there wouldn't be a point."** The fox told him.

There was sudden beeping from coming from the computer where Needle sat. "Crap! They know we're trying to find him! They're trying to cut us off with a virus!" She shouted aloud, letting everyone know. The tension in the room got thick in the room as people tried to hurry along with their work. They knew that they were on a time schedule, but now the schedule had been shortened.

"Block that virus, Little Snake, now!" Papa Snake barked out. If it got through before they did, it would've been all over.

"Hold on….got it! The virus is blocked." Little Snake said in triumph from where she sat in front of her computer.

"I've got a lock on him. We have his location!" Beast declared in a loud voice, getting everyone's attention.

"Send those codes, Teacher, now!" Toad yelled urgently.

Teacher worked on the keyboard furiously, his fingers dancing on the keys. "There, the codes are sent!" He told them, hitting the Enter key.

He changed the frequency on the wireless. "Shadow, this is Toad. The codes have been sent."

It didn't take long to get a transmission from the wireless. "This is Shadow, the codes have been received. I say again, the codes have been received."

"Unplug him now, Shadow!" Toad ordered urgently.

"_What's going on?" _Naruto thought in a blind panic. He was now scared for his life. He had no idea what going on or what they were saying. He hadn't been this terrified since his childhood. _"Kyūbi, please, I need get free! I have to get out of here!"_

"**It'll all be alright, Naruto."**The fox assured him. **"When you wake up, don't panic if you can't find me." **Before the blonde could even ask the Bijū what he meant, he suddenly felt like his chakra had been set on fire and was burning him alive. He screamed for a brief moment before the pain knocked him out.

* * *

><p>He opened his eyes to find himself floating in some sort of liquid goo. After an initial shock made him freeze, he began to claw his way through it, breaking the surface in the process. As he sat up and tried to breathe, he discovered that something was down his throat and was choking him. He struggled to remove it as his arms felt weak for some reason. But the thing finally came out and he could finally breathe. As he gasped for air (almost dry-heaving), sitting in a pod-like object filled with red liquid, he looked around. What he saw made him stop and stare. He saw rows upon rows of pods like his on a tall tower, circling around it. He could not see the top or the bottom and it was not the only tower. There were more and arcs of lightning would occasionally travel between two of them.<p>

"_Where am I? What did they do…?"_ He tried to ask himself. Butas he looked closer at the pod next to him, he stopped. Inside the pod was a person, just floating in the red liquid, almost looking he was sleeping. When he checked the other side, he saw another person in the pod there too. _"Oh, sweet merciful Kami,"_ He said quietly as he looked again at all the pods he could see. Each and everyone one of them had a person inside them.

Then he looked at himself. He glistened with some form of slime all over his body. He could see that there were plugs attached to all over his body. _"What in the name of all the Bijū is this?! Why am I attached to this stuff?" _He asked while he was checking his body for more plugs. _"Hey, fox, what is going on here? Hey, fox? Fox! Kyūbi, where are you?!" _Naruto thought in a panic. Even though he could remember the Bijū telling him to not panic, he couldn't help but panic. With the Kyūbi gone, the blonde literally felt alone. And he didn't like it.

He then felt a bigger and thicker plug attached to the base of his skull. As he began to feel it out, trying to figure out its general shape, something that could only be described as a black mechanical crab came swooping down to his pod. As he gazed upon the machine, he felt truly sacred now_ "What in the name of_—_!"_ He tried to say. Butbefore he could finish that thought, one of the crab's arms reached out with lightning speed, grabbed his neck and squeezed. He tried to pry the thing off, but the arm was too tough and too strong to even budge.

While he tried to pry the arm off, the crab kept looking at him, almost like it was examining him. All of a sudden, the plug at the base of his skull started to move like a drill bit coming out. The blonde suddenly felt intense pain coursing through his body, but he held on, trying to free himself from the crab. Then, with no warning, the plug detached itself and He lost all control his body. He sagged forward onto the rim of the pod as the crab released its grip on him and flew away.

He tried to regain control of his body, but the plugs started to detach themselves from his body with sudden (and painful) speed. He tried to endure it, but every time a plug detached, all he could feel was pain pushing him back. Finally, with all the plugs gone from his body, he sank back into the liquid goo. As he struggled to get back up to breathe air again, a hatch opened up behind him and everything in the pod (minus the plugs) was drained away, including him. He tried to figure where he was going as he flew down the tube. His answer was given to him when he flew feet first into what briefly looked like a big pool of water.

He started to sink the minute he hit the water. He tried to make his body work, to swim back up to the surface. But his body reacted sluggishly as if it was trying to figure out _how_ to move. _"Come on, move legs, MOVE!" _Naruto ordered his body. He wasn't going to die by drowning. His body soon listened to what he said. His feet began to kick the water, sending him upward to the surface. It was agony with every inch he swam, but he didn't stop. He kept going. When he broke the surface of the water, he relieved. But he then he discovered that, even though his body knew to swim again, he could not tread water easily.

He was about to sink again when he saw a bright light shining down from above him. He tried to see what it was, but the light itself blinded him, making him cover his eyes. When he could barely glimpse at the light, all he could was a giant claw descending towards him. Not knowing if the crane belonged to someone friendly, he tried to swim away. But the claw caught him easily. It raised itself back up, bringing him with it.

As the claw came to a stop, he saw movement all around him. He vaguely felt hands taking him out of the crane's grip and onto something that felt like a stable. Then he noticed someone standing next to his body. As he tried to focus on the person, his eyes widen in shock and fear at who it was. Before he could do or say anything, he started to blackout. The last thing he heard was the words "Welcome to the real world, gaki." coming from the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.

**End**

**Authors note: **Thank you for the reviews you've sent me.

Now many of you said that Naruto should have come back and go on a killing spree. However I have read so many of those stories, it's becoming a cliché.

Don't worry though. You will find how Naruto will treat them in the next chapter. Also I will reveal who has what codename, although if you have not figured it out by now, shame on you.

See you all next chapter!


	3. Explanations, Test, New Zion

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Matrix

Woken from exile

Chapter 2: Explanations, Tests, and New Zion

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Bijū/machine talking"**

"_**Bijū/machine thinking"**_

Messages/Intercom/Transmissions

(Location: The _Konoha_)

Naruto stirred from sleep, groaning slightly as he sat up. "_Man, that was such a weird dream" _He thought as he stretched, absently noticing that he was only wearing underwear. As he stretched, he noticed something on his arm. When he looked at it more closely, he saw that it was a socket. To his further surprise, it was literally imbedded in his arm. He checked the rest of that arm and the other. What he found were multiple sockets imbedded in both of his arms. His hands flew to the back of his head, confirming the fact that there was a socket at the base of his skull, something he had hoped wasn't there. "_It wasn't a dream. They really did do something to me!" _He realized. Then he remembered the Kyūbi. _"Hey, fox! Are you in there?"_

"**Quiet down, kit," **The Kyūbi replied sleepily. "**That entire process has me completely wiped out. Please, I am begging you. Just let me sleep for a bit." **After that the fox began to snore, having fallen completely asleep.

"_Thank Kami he's still here."_ Naruto thought with relief. He had been with the Kyūbi for so long now, he didn't know how he would cope without him in his head, telling him off and warning him not to do something stupid. The blonde began to look around the room he had been sleeping in. It looked like it had benn hammered out from sheets of iron. It also looked like it was the inside of a ship. Across from him (with just enough room to stand and walk to it) was a table with a mirror and a package on it. He got up from the bed and went over to the table, picking up the mirror and looking at himself.

His face was still the same. He still had his whisker marks on his cheeks and his eyes were still blue. The only real different thing about him was his hair or rather, the lack of hair. "_I hope that grows back. Lack of hair and me do not agree." _He silently commented. Putting the mirror down and picking the package up, he saw a note on it. The note read:

Put these on and come out of the room. Everything will be explained.

He opened the package up and took the items out. They turned out to be pants, socks, boots and a shirt. With the exception of the boots, every item looked handmade. Like the people on wherever he was made this stuff themselves. "_Thank Kami they gave me a pair of underwear while I was asleep." _He thought as he dressed himself, finishing with the boots. When he was done, he went to the door and opened it.

Waiting in the hallway for him was a big man in a pair dark green pants and a deep red shirt. He had red linings on his face and had a mane of white hair that he kept in a long ponytail that ended at his waist. "Damn, gaki, look how big you got. You used to be a shrimp. These past six years did you good." He said with a chuckle.

Naruto just glared at him. "Jiraiya," He said shortly. He wasn't happy to see the man, remembering what he did to him.

He shook his head. "It's nice that you remember my name. But when you start working with us, please remember my codename is Toad." He told the blonde. When he didn't get a reply, he just sighed. "Come on then, I'll take you to the broadcast room." With that he started to walk away and Naruto had no choice but to follow. As they made their way through the ship, Naruto noticed that they were the only people around. Jiraiya saw him looking around and answered his unspoken question. "Everyone is waiting in the broadcast room. They figured that I should be the one to ease you into all this."

"_Kami only knows why."_ Naruto thought to himself. "Where are we?" He asked aloud, looking around. So far, he saw no indicator of where he was.

Jiraiya stopped at the door to the broadcast room and grinned. "Sorry gaki. I forgot. Welcome aboard the _Konoha_." He then opened the door and ushered him in. "Hey everyone." He called out. "Look who's up and walking around."

Naruto looked around and saw everybody's eyes on him. All of sudden there was a cry of "Naruto!" and sound of someone running at him. Realizing who it was on sight, He stepped to the side as she came close, making her miss. "I would appreciate it if you did not try to attack me when I have done nothing to insult you, Haruno, unless you consider me to be breathing an insult." He said in a polite but cold voice to the person.

Sakura flinched at the tone in his voice. All she wanted to do was hug him, but he made it sound like she was going to hit him. But she still smiled. "I wasn't trying to attack you, Naruto, but never mind. By the way, when we are in the field, my codename is Cherry." She told him, trying to stay positive.

Before he could respond, Jiraiya intervened. "Well, you have met Sakura already. How about meeting the rest of the crew?" He suggested.

Without introduction, two people came up to Naruto "Well, dobe, it took us awhile, but we got you." The person on the left said a little smugly, a confident smirk on his face. "Welcome aboard."

"Uchiha," Naruto greeted him, still keeping the polite but cold voice.

If he was put off by the response, he didn't show it. "Hn, by the way in the field, my codename is Raven. Try not to forget it dobe."

"Now, now, Sasuke, leave Naruto alone. Odds are he has some questions." The man on the right said with an eye smile. "We should give him the time to have them answered. And we have a post to return to."

"Hatake," Naruto said to the man who had once been his sensei. Even here, he had something covering his left eye and something covering the bottom half of his mouth.

"Hello, Naruto. In the field, my codename is Cyclops." Both he and Sasuke moved out of the way for the next group to come up to Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto, how are you doing?" The one in the middle asked at him with a huge grin on his face.

"Inuzuka," He looked around for something but didn't see it. "Where is the dog?"

Kiba winced a little, but still kept the smile plastered on. "It's a little complicated. Anyway, I want you to know that while we are in the field, my codename is Bone."

"Pardon me, Kiba. But the others will want to talk to Naruto soon." The man to Kiba's right said.

"Aburame," Naruto turned to him. "Do you have your bugs?" If Kiba didn't have his partner, he doubted that Shino had his.

"Like Kiba had already said, it's a little complicated. However, I wish to inform you that while we are in the field together, my codename is Hive."

"Um, S-Shino, K-Kiba, c-could you move over a b-bit." The girl asked her teammates with a stutter. They did as she asked, stepping to the side.

"Hyūga," Naruto greeted with a small bow of his head.

"H-hello, Naruto, I, um, I just w-wanted t-to tell y-you that my c-codename is Hime." She stammered quickly, blushed, and then ran away with both Kiba and Shino after her. The blonde kept his neutral expression, never once looking confused or curious about what she did.

"She spends three years gaining confidence, getting over her shyness, and trying to lose her stammer. You show up, and she's back to square one." The woman that stood behind the three said with an amused look.

"Are you accusing me of something, Yūhi?" Naruto ask the woman, looking her straight in the eye.

"No, I should have figured it would happen." She said with a smile, looking at her team. "Also, in the field, my codename is Queen."

He followed her gaze and saw Hinata giggle at something that Kiba had said. "How appropriate," He stated, looking at the two.

Kurenai look at him. "Are you referring to Queen and Hime or Hinata and Kiba?" She asked him. It was the first thing he had said something without the cold politeness in his voice.

But it was already back. "It's not important." He replied shortly, making it obvious that he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

She got the hint and went back to her team, allowing the next group to come up and talk to him. "YOSH! Hello, Naruto, you are full of such youthfulness!" The person in front of Naruto declared in a loud voice.

"Hello Lee." He said politely. He was beginning to hope that this it wouldn't take any longer.

But Lee wasn't done. His face was now set in a scowl "But that was a very unyouthful trick you played on us in that bar. We had only talked about and then you go and—" He was interrupted by the girl on his right, who smacked the upside of his head.

"Knock it off. Lee! We don't need that here. Sorry, Naruto," She apologized with a sheepish grin. "Anyway, Lee's codename in the field is Rock and mine is Weapon."

"There is no need to apologize, Tenten." Naruto said calmly. He had met a lot of excitable people while on the road and he figured out that the key to handling them is to remain calm.

"It's good to see you are well, Naruto." The person to the left of Lee said, joining the conversation.

"Hyūga," Naruto said as he looked at the person.

"I wish to inform you that in the field, my codename is Fate. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get back to our post." The three of them left, leaving Naruto with the person who was behind them.

"Lee is correct, Naruto! That was indeed a most unyouthful thing you did to my students. But I will let pass because while it was unyouthful, it was also quite ingenious at the time!" The man said in a loud voice.

"If I remember correctly, Guy, you were a lot calmer when I was strapped to that chair." Naruto told him, his voice even colder than it was before.

He flinched at the voice, but kept going. "That was because I had to focus on saving you and your youthfulness, Naruto! Also please remember that in the field, my codename is Beast. Now I must see how my youthful students are doing!" After he said that, Guy left, leaving him with the next group who walked up to him.

"Hey, Naruto, buddy, are you feeling okay?" The person asked him in a cheerful voice.

"Akimichi, why are you not eating anything?" Naruto asked with surprise in his voice. It was a rare sight to see him without something edible in his hands.

"There is not a lot to snack on between meals here, so I have to do something else." He explained. "And in the field, my codename is Eater." He moved aside as the next person had more room to talk.

"Hello, Naruto. You look good." The girl said, trying to flirt with him.

"Yamanaka," He replied curtly. He knew what she was trying to do and was in no mood for it.

"Aw, you're no fun. But before I forget, my codename is Walker. Now back to business, what do you think about—?" She began to ask. What it is was, he didn't find out.

"Ino, leave him alone. Naruto isn't going anywhere for the time being." The person to her right said in a voice that had a very lazy drawl to it.

"Nara," Naruto said in greetings.

"Naruto," He replied. "It's a drag to tell you this, but my codename in the field is Shadow."

"Alright, guys, back to your posts. I will be along shortly." The man behind them said. While only Ino looked a little disappointed, Shikamaru and Chōji nodded in acknowledgement and left, making sure she came with.

"Sarutobi," Naruto said to the man, still keeping his voice polite but cold.

He shook his head in exasperation. "Don't be like that, Naruto." He chastised the blonde. "We're quite glad you're with us now. And in the field, my codename is Smoker." He looked over at where his students were and saw Ino was beginning to act up. "Sorry, but I have to go make sure Ino doesn't do something."

With said he left, letting the next person come up and say "Hello, Naruto." in a quiet voice.

"Hello, Shizune." Naruto replied. He had noticed that she was trying to not look him directly in the eye. For whatever reason she did that, he didn't know and he didn't care.

"You seem to be taking this all quite well, Naruto. By the way, in the field, my codename is Needle. You'll have to forgive me, but I have to get back to my post." She left in a little bit of a hurry.

Her exit allowed the next two people to come up to him. "Hey kiddo, you look tasty in those clothes." The woman who came up to him said with a big grin on her face.

"Are you looking for the chance to taste my blood again, Mitarashi?" He asked while preparing to back up quickly if he had to get away.

"Are you offering me the chance?" She asked with a gleam in her eyes. She looked like she really wanted to do that.

"Anko, leave Naruto alone. Odds are he does not want that to happen to him again." The man to the left of Anko said with a smirk on his face, like he was enjoying what was going on despite speaking against it.

"Orochimaru," The blonde spat the word out like it was piece of bad meat.

"There is no reason to be rude, Naruto." He replied. "However, in the field, my codename is Papa Snake and Anko has the codename of Little Snake."

Naruto looked at the both of them. "I can see the resemblance." He said. Not everyone there was sure if there was any contempt in his voice at that point. But none of them dared to ask.

"Oh, I just remember!" Anko turned around, jogged a few steps, and grabbed someone by the arm. "Come on and say hello already. Stop trying to hide!" She said as she pulled the person up to Naruto.

"Hello, Naruto." The person said nervously.

He looked at the person with a shocked expression on his face. But the shock was soon replaced with warmth, the first any of them had seen since he woke up. "Iruka-sensei," He said before pulling the man into a bear hug. He was glad to see Iruka again. He saw the man as a father figure. During his trial, Iruka was the only one who tried to defend him and also argued that Naruto should not be exiled, but was overruled. "What's going on? Where am I?" The blonde asked his former teacher in a whisper that was half-panicked.

"It'll be okay, Naruto." Iruka assured him. "But I am deeply sorry about what happened to you." He said, finally got out of the bear hug.

"It's not a problem, Iruka-sensei. Not a problem at all." He said with a grin.

"Thank you. But in the field, my codename is Teacher. Remember to use it while we're out there." Iruka told him with a smile.

"Well, now that everyone has met you, Naruto, we can get to the explanations." Jiraiya said. "Can you go get the captain, Orochimaru?" He asked the man, looking at him.

As Orochimaru nodded and left, Naruto began to look around the broadcast room. The room was fairly large and had quite a lot of chairs positioned in a U-shape around one big console. Each chair had a hole that was near the neck and it looked like something was supposed to go in there. Above each chair was a computer that looked it monitored someone's heartbeat and brainwaves. The console had three keyboards on it and multiple computers to each side. Each computer had something on its screen. One had what looked to be the process to upload a shinobi technique. Another seemed to have on its screen, information on a town in the Land of Fire. The eye-catcher of the console however, was the three computers right in front of the keyboards. The only thing each computer had on it was a screen full of code that looked like they were raining down the screen of the computers. The code itself looked like random numbers and letters (some were in languages he didn't even know).

Taking his eyes away from the console, Naruto began to look over the people in the room. Despite the different colors of the shirts and the pants everyone wore, they all looked to be handmade. There were a few small holes here and there, but apparently, it wasn't worthwhile to fix them.

As he kept looking around, Orochimaru came back into the room. Right behind him was the last person Naruto wanted to see at that moment. "I see you are up and about, Naruto. That's good to know." Tsunade said, looking at him. When she came in, everybody stopped what they were doing and looked at them.

"Lady Hokage." Naruto said to her in a cold tone that would have made the Yeti shiver.

If what he said affected her in anyway, she didn't show it. "Jiraiya, have you told him anything yet?" She asked the man.

"No, Captain. We were waiting for you before we started." Jiraiya replied.

She nodded her thanks to him before turning her attention back to Naruto. "Why didn't you join another village? They would have taken you in without hesitation." She asked the blonde.

"What would've stopped them from treating me the same way Konoha did?" He asked. "All I had to do was make one mistake and they'd have the excuse they would've been looking for. So why even bother? I gave up being a shinobi." No one there had been expecting that answer. They never would've thought he, of all people, would say that.

"But if you did not get training, why did it take us that long to find you?" Tsunade asked. She hadn't been expecting that answer from the younger blonde, but she had to remain in control and keep moving the conversation forward.

He smirked as he looked her in the eye. "You were expecting me to have little or no control over my chakra. Either that or you expected me to have training as a shinobi. One of the first things I did after I was exiled was to learn how to control my chakra just enough to make it appear as if it belonged to a civilian."

"What the hell have you been doing all these years?" Jiraiya demanded. He had thought it odd that they received no word about Naruto from the other villages, but he just thought that they were being cautious and keeping him hidden away from the world. Never would he have thought that Naruto Uzumaki himself would give up on being a shinobi.

"I just wandered around the Elemental Countries, not caring where I went or what road I was on." He smiled at the memories of the past six years. It had been a good time.

"Perhaps we should get to the matter at hand?" Orochimaru suggested to Tsunade.

She nodded in agreement. "Naruto, have you ever had a feeling that there—" She began to ask him.

"That there was something with the world. Like there just something out of balance with it all? Like it was a dream that you couldn't wake up from?" He asked, cutting her off. Everyone stared at him in shock once he had stolen that question from her.

"How do you know that?" Tsunade demanded him.

"I started to have that feeling when I was five. Sometimes, I could even see strings of numbers and letters that were in the houses, the roads, and anything I saw. I figured I was going crazy, so I tried to ignore it. And after a while, it stopped." He answered.

As everyone digested the information they had just heard, Jiraiya stepped to Tsunade's side. "Captain, can we talk for a minute alone, please?" He asked her quietly, gesturing to Orochimaru and himself.

She nodded in agreement. The three of them walked over to a nearby door and started talking in hushed voices. _"Hey, Kyūbi, can you help me out here?"_ A now curious Naruto asked the Bijū as he tried to listen in on the conversation. The fox had woken back up at some point during the meet-and-greet. He decided to stay quiet, until now.

"**Of course, kit." **He replied. He sent enough of his chakra to extend the hearing of his Jinchūriki, but not enough for people to find out.

"It's possible Tsunade, even you must accept the—" Orochimaru tried to say, only to be interrupted by Tsunade's angry voice.

"I don't care what the facts say, Orochimaru! Naruto is not the One, understand?!" She said in a harsh whisper.

"Tsunade, I agree with Orochimaru." Jiraiya calmly said to her. "You and I both know there has never been anybody that young who realized that they were in the Matrix, even unconsciously."

"I don't care, Jiraiya I did not rescue a warrior of prophecy, I rescued someone I care about!" She replied firmly.

"_That's six years too late."_ Naruto thought to himself. Had he heard those words soon after he had been exiled, he would've forgiven her. But he wasn't going to now.

"Tsunade, you know we can't keep him on this ship. You know the law." Orochimaru reminded her.

"Fuck the law." She declared. "He's not going anywhere."

"Are you trying to get us executed!?" He demanded, trying not to raise the level of his voice.

"Look, we can talk about this later." Jiraiya told the two of them. "Right now, let's take care of telling Naruto the truth." They nodded in agreement. As the three of them came back, Naruto hastily told the fox to stop the chakra flow.

"Naruto, come with me." Tsunade told him. Seeing as he had no other real option, he followed her to one of the chairs. "Sit down." She told him, standing beside the chair.

He climbed into the chair and sat down in it. When he did, everyone moved like a silent order had been given. The Konoha Eleven left the room while the sensei of each team watched the tunnel cameras for something that was out there. Iruka started to fiddle with the chair Naruto was in. He locked the blonde's feet in place by using manacles, making sure he couldn't easily get out of the chair.

As Iruka started to check the computer screen above the chair, Jiraiya came over and made sure Naruto was lying down. "This will feel a little odd, gaki. So be sure not to panic." He then proceeded to put what felt like a needle into the socket at the base of the blonde's skull.

Naruto immediately felt extreme pain. But just as it had appeared, it disappeared. He had closed his eyes in pain. But when he opened them, he was in a white void. "This place is called the Construct. It's where we can upload things like training programs or weapons." A voice behind informed him. Turning around, he saw Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru standing before. They were dressed in their usual clothes, but in black. As he saw this, he quickly checked himself. He wore a dark shirt and pants with a black jacket on as well. There were no sockets anywhere on his body and he felt his hair was back to its original length.

"Two things," He said, trying to stay calm. "Number one: where exactly are we? All you gave me was a name. Number two: What in the name of Kami happened to me?" He raised his arms to emphasize his point.

"Right now, we are inside a computer program. Also what has happen to you is simple: this is how you see yourself in the Matrix." Orochimaru answered his question. As Naruto looked around, he saw four chairs seated around a TV, and that Tsunade and Jiraiya had already sat down in two of the chairs. As he cautiously walked over to them, Orochimaru join them in the third seat.

"Let's get to the matter at hand." Jiraiya said from where he sat. "Naruto, what year do you think you are in right now?" He asked the blonde.

Naruto thought it over for a minute. "About 1834," He finally answered, standing by the fourth chair. "Why does it matter?"

"Because, Naruto, the year is actually 3214," Tsunade told him. Jiraiya turn the TV on and started to change the channel, letting multiple images pass by. He was able to catch a few: people moving in a town, ships leaving port and a Daimyos court that just entering.

"Naruto, you have been living in a dream world. The real world looks like this." Jiraiya told him. He pushed a button and all of a sudden, the four of them were in a wasteland of black, broken rocks and a storm over their heads.

"Welcome to the desert of the real." Tsunade said with a grim face.

As Naruto looked around him in stunned surprise, Orochimaru started to talk. "We don't have a lot of information on what happened. What we do know is that sometime in the early 21st century; mankind congratulated itself on giving birth to A.I. A.I. stood for Artificial Intelligence. It was a sentient race of machines that created to do what man commanded them to do." He explained when he saw Naruto's confused look.

"We have no idea who made the first blow." Tsunade said, taking over. "But we do know that it was us who scorched the sky." She saw Naruto look up at the storm-riddled sky. "The machines at the time were powered by the sun and its energy. From what we can tell, the humans at the time decide to try and starve the machines in order to win. The machines however, had found a different source of energy: human beings."

"To the machines, humans are not born under their control." Jiraiya continued the explanation. "They are grown and harvested." He saw Naruto's look of disbelief. "There are fields, Naruto, endless fields of humans where the machines harvest them. We didn't believe it at first either. Then we saw the fields for our own eyes. That was when we realized that the machines wanted only one thing from the humans: to be a battery so that they might live while we die." All three of the Sannin had a solemn look on their face as they all returned to the white void.

"Continue. I know you have more to say." Naruto said quietly as he tried to process the information he had been told. It seemed so hard to believe that everything he had known was, in essence, a lie. He wanted to refuse what they told him, to try and not believe it. But…he couldn't.

"We also know that about 400 years ago, both humans and machines were able to make a truce in order to coexist." Orochimaru said. "However, we also know that 100 years later, something had occurred that started the current war between us. Sadly, we don't know what happen to create the truce or what happen to cause this war."

"I see. So why do you captain a ship called the _Konoha_? Is it because you want to remember something from your old life?" He asked Tsunade.

She shook her head. "I am only the fifth captain of the _Konoha_. There's a ship for each village of shinobi." She told him. "When we were trained by Sarutobi-sensei, we started to feel that there was something wrong with the world, like you did. We told him about what we felt. As a result, we were unplugged from the Matrix by Sarutobi-sensei. Once we got over the initial shock, we found things in the real world paralleled things in the Matrix. Just as Sarutobi was the third Hokage, he was also the third captain of the ship _Konoha_."

"So that would mean that each Hokage was also the captain of the ship." It made sense if he applied it to what she was saying.

She nodded. "Correct. After learning the truth about the Matrix, we joined in fighting the war, both in the real world and in the Matrix. Eventually, we trained our own students and they began to feel something was wrong."

"So that means Shizune, Mitarashi, and the Yondaime Hokage would have felt the same feeling and would come to you and tell you about it. Once they told you, you would then unplugged them and show them the same things your sensei told you. Once they had gotten used to it and joined the fight, they would train their own students, thus repeating the cycle." He concluded. It was an almost perfect cycle. Then he remembered something. "If the other villages had people who were unplugged, how did the Shinobi World Wars happen?" Wouldn't they have tried to stop it?

"The Shinobi World Wars always happened at the same time the Machines tried to attack New Zion." Orochimaru explained. Then he clarified for Naruto, who did not know what he was talking about. "New Zion is the last human city in the real world. As I was saying, when the Machines tried to attack New Zion, they would try to destroy our ships by slowing us down in the Matrix and destroy the ship while it was broadcasting. Their method of slowing us down was to incite war between humans in the Matrix."

"But the Shinobi World Wars went on for years." Naruto argued. "These attacks on 'New Zion' sound like they happened in only a day or two. Plus, how on earth did you work with the other ships if you were fighting against each other?"

"When the Machines attacked us, they also slowed down time in the Matrix. It started to run differently when the Shinobi World Wars occurred. There were literally days where we could have been in the Matrix for eight months but when we jacked out, it had only been forty minutes." Jiraiya explained.

"But we took precautions." Tsunade said, "Whenever a team from one ship met a team from another on the battlefield, there was a procedure that was put in place. If said teams were fighting against each other, they always made sure that they did not kill, only defeat the other team. If they were equally matched and the battle went on for extended periods of time, a distraction was often used in order for the teams to break off the fight." She looked at him. "Is that all?"

"No, I have another question: what in the in name of all the Bijū is _he_ doing her?!" The blonde demanded, pointing at Orochimaru.

The Sannin looked at each other before realization dawned on Orochimaru. "Ah, you think that because I defected from the village, I shouldn't be on the _Konoha_. Is that correct?" Naruto nodded in acknowledgement.

"Naruto, Orochimaru never really defected from the village. He is, in fact, still quite loyal." Jiraiya quickly explained to the blonde.

"Okay. How about this then: if you were so keen on bringing me here, why was I exiled?" That was the question that needed to be answered and they all knew it.

The three Sannin shared a look with one another. "We were trying to keep in the village, Naruto. But the members of the Civilian council wanted to have you killed." Tsunade told him. "We had run out of ideas to keep you from execution. That was when the council elders suggested a solution that could work. The council elders had been shown the real world at the same time as Sarutobi and they had retired from serving on the _Konoha_ for a long time. They only jacked in when we really needed help." She hurriedly explained.

"And what, pray tell, did the wise elders suggest?"

"That we exile you and indirectly cause you to go to another village for training. Once they were certain that you were ready, they would send you on a mission that would've led you straight into a Konoha ambush. You would've been captured and then handed over to us. We would then proceed to unplug you from the Matrix. We all thought it was a good idea. It would've kept you safe and hidden, while also ensuring that you would've been able to train as a shinobi. And to make sure that nobody thought you would still have allegiance to Konoha, we talk to the toads and made the agreement to have your name stricken from the Toad Summoning Scroll, at least temporarily. The only person who argued against the plan was Iruka. He thought you should have been kept in the village and not be exiled at all."

Naruto's eyes went flat and hard. "Get me out of this place now."

"Naruto, just try to stay—" Jiraiya tried to make sure the blonde wouldn't lose his temper. But it was too late.

"I SAID GET ME OUT OF THIS PLACE NOW!" He roared at them. His voice seemed to echo and reecho throughout the void.

The Sannin flinched at the roar coursed through their ears. Sighing in defeat, Jiraiya looked upwards. "Pull us out, Shizune." He said.

Naruto blinked and suddenly, he was back in the broadcasting room. He struggled with the manacles on his feet but was able to get them off and get out of the chair. "I want to be alone." He told them all as he left the room in a rush.

"I'm guessing that it didn't go well?" Kakashi asked the Sannin with a neutral expression on his face.

Jiraiya sighed, sat up, and rubbed his neck. "It could've gone better, Kakashi. He took it well. Then we told him why he was exiled."

"I told you guys that would have happened. But you didn't believe me." Iruka said with a small amount of triumphant smugness in voice.

"Thank you, Iruka, for that notification." Orochimaru said with obvious sarcasm. He turned to look Tsunade. "What do we do now, Captain?"

She got out of the chair. "Don't worry, he'll come around. Once that happens, we can get down to business. In the meantime, we take him through the basic training programs. Once we're done in New Zion, we start taking him through the advance programs."

Jiraiya looked at the door where Naruto had left through. "Somehow, I don't think it's going to be that easy." He said to himself. The law kept coming back to him whenever Tsunade started talking like the blonde was staying with them. They all knew what was going to happen. She just didn't want to believe it.

(Location: Naruto)

He woke up the next morning hungry (he was able to find the room he had been sleeping in without running into anyone else). So he got up and went in search of food, grabbing what looked like a cap nearby (until his hair grew back, he was keeping it covered). He found the cafeteria easy enough. The downside was the Konoha Eleven were there as well. He tried to leave as soon as he saw them, but it was already too late.

"Hey, Naruto, get in here!" Ino said with excitement. She leapt up from where she sat, rushed over, and pulled him in before he could refuse.

"Let go of him, Ino, and let him sit down." Chōji told her off. She frowned at her teammate, but did so anyway. Now having no other choice, Naruto sat down at the table.

Once he was sitting, Kiba pour something into a bowl and placed it in front of him. "Here you go, Naruto. Eat up. You're going to need it." He told the blonde

He looked at what was in front of him. It looked somewhat solid but was also floating in some sort of liquid. "What is this, exactly?" He asked Tenten.

She shrugged. "We're not sure ourselves." She told him. "All we know is that it has the essentials that the body needs and it's good for us."

He turned his gaze back at the bowl, looking at what. "Well, I've probably had worse, so…" He took the bowl into his hand. "Bottoms up," He declared, raising the bowl into a drinkers salute. He then opened his mouth and proceeded to drop what was in the bowl into it.

Everyone in the room looked at him with interest as he tried to sallow the foodstuff. As it finally went down, he lowered the bowl and thought about what he just ate. "Somewhat grainy, a little wet and a bit more salty then preferred. But all in all, quite tasty," He decided. "Another round please," He said to Kiba, holding out his bowl.

Everyone looked in shocked silence as Kiba woodenly filled Naruto's bowl with more of the stuff. "Uh, Naruto?" said Chōji

"Yes?" Naruto asked back, just before he had started eating again.

"How can you eat that stuff? I barely tolerate it." Considering he was an Akimichi, that was saying something.

The blonde shrugged. "Well, when you live through my childhood, you can't afford to be picky." He then ate the food, put the bowl, asked for another round and then looked at Shikamaru. "So tell me, Nara. How did they get you all into this?"

He muttered a "troublesome" before telling Naruto how it happened to them. "The feeling didn't come to us all at the time. We kept silent about it until each of us realized that the rest had the same feeling. Once we had agreed that we all had that same feeling, we went to our respective sensei and told them what we felt. They in turn, took us to Lady Tsunade. After we told her about the feeling, she ordered us not to speak about this to anyone. Then she told us to come to a specific address after midnight. When we showed up, we met with Lord Jiraiya, who took us into a room where Lady Tsunade was waiting. She waited for us to all sit down and asked us if we really wanted to know the truth behind the feeling. We didn't know how to answer. It was like we wanted to know, but there was something in the back of our heads telling us not to answer. Lady Tsunade smiled and said it was okay. She had faced the same situation when she was asked. She told us to come up one at a time and she would give us a choice."

He was now interested. "What was this choice you were given?" He asked.

"She had her hands out and in the palm of her left hand was a blue pill and in the palm of her right was a red pill. She told us that after this, there was no going back. One of us would come up to her and she gave that person the same offer that everyone got: 'you take the blue pill: the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill: you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

"_I remember Jiraiya saying something about a red pill and a choice." _The blonde thought to himself as he ate the food in his bowl. "So you were given a choice, and it seems that you all obviously chose the red pill." He commented, going back to the conversation.

Shikamaru gave a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, after the person made choice, Lady Tsunade would take the person into another room. A half hour or so later, she would come back and asked another person to come up. Then she gave them the offer. By the time she had gotten to me, I was the last person in the room. I took the red pill and she led me into a room where Iruka, Shizune, and Anko were all sitting at a computer. She took me to a chair, told me to sit down and to relax. I did that until I realized that I did not see where everyone else was. It was in that same instant of realization that they unplugged me." He winced at the memory. "After I woke up on the ship, I met up with the others. We tried to figure out what had happen and where we were. While we were doing that, Iruka-sensei found us and told us follow him. He led us to the broadcasting room and we were given the same show you were given."

"Oh, I'm sure yours was a little different." Naruto said to himself under his breath.

"**That's the understatement of the decade." **The Kyūbi added with a straight face.

Shikamaru continued his story. "After we learned everything, Lady Tsunade told us that she was reorganizing us into a special ops group. That way, we could only work with those who knew about the Matrix."

"I remember reading about that about three years back." Naruto said.

"That came out a few weeks after we had first jacked into the Matrix, it was meant to tell whatever village you were with that it was time to send you out on that mission. But after getting no response from the other villages, Lady Tsunade decided that our first covert mission was to find you and get you unplugged." He finished.

"Thus, you wasted a good amount of your life trying to find me. I can't say I pity you." Naruto said with nonchalance as he looked at Kiba and asked for fourths. He got it and started eating.

"Hey, dobe, I would've thought you'd be asking us where the ramen is by now. Why haven't you?" Sasuke asked him. If there was one thing he knew about Naruto, it was that he practically worshiped the food.

But that was the old Naruto. "I gave up on ramen, Uchiha. After I was exiled, I couldn't exactly have for every meal." He said, not losing his cool. "So, I had to eat a little healthier and, as you can see, it's done wonders."

"**He admits it! Praise Kami, he admits it!" **The Kyūbi was crying with joy. He was so happy you could almost hear the choir singing "Hallelujah."

"_Oh, shut up." _His Jinchūriki told him.

The Konoha Eleven were completely floored by his words. Naruto giving up ramen like Tsunade cleaning out a casino: a completely-and-utterly-not-going-happen-no-matter-what scenario. But before anyone could say anything, Kakashi came through the door. "Naruto, come up to the broadcasting room. Sasuke, Sakura, you two come as well." He said told them, leaving through the same door.

Naruto finished off the bowl, got up, and headed for the door. Before he left, he looked back and saw Sasuke and Sakura still in their seats. "Are you coming or not?" He asked them before leaving himself. They quickly got up from their seats and followed.

(Location: Broadcast room)

He walked into the room with Sasuke and Sakura right behind him. Inside were just Iruka, Shizune, and Kakashi. "What do you need, Hatake?" Naruto asked the man.

Kakashi gave an eye-smile. "Well now. Naruto, since you are still new to all this, we have to train you in a few things. The first one will be familiar to you, which is also why I asked both Sasuke and Sakura to come up here. Now, all of you get a chair and we'll start the program." The three complied and got into a chair. After Iruka set them up and gave Shizune the all-clear, she jacked them in.

* * *

><p>As Naruto blinked his eyes open, he noticed that he was in the old training ground, just outside of Konoha. He looked around and saw Sasuke and Sakura standing beside him. Sasuke was wearing black pants and boots with a grey short sleeve shirt that was somewhat open in the front. He wore black armbands around his wrists and when he turned, Naruto saw that the Uchiha symbol was on his back.<p>

Sakura wore a deep red shirt with a white ring on the back of it. It also left her shoulders and her arms bare. She wore black pants that seem to cling to her. Both had a kunai holster on their right leg.

He looked down at himself and groaned out loud when Kakashi had appeared wearing a black version of his usual clothes. "Naruto, what we are in right now is a training program. It's somewhat similar to the Matrix. It has the same basic rules, like gravity. But some of the rules can be bent while others can be broken." He explained, holding up two bells. "Now, the idea of this program is to see how well you can work with other members of your team while in the Matrix. As such, we've decided to use a test you're familiar with. The rules are the same as last time. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, actually, I do have a question: what could have possibly made you people think that I would actually _like_ this outfit?!" He demanded, gesturing to himself. He was wearing cargo pants in a deep rust orange color and a black athletic shirt. On the back of his shirt was the Uzumaki symbol in dark crimson. He also had a kunai holster on his right leg.

"What's wrong with it, Naruto?" Sakura asked him. "It's actually looks good on you." To Sakura, it showed off the muscles that gave him a runner's build and highlighted his natural tan. All-in-all, she approved of the outfit. "And I thought you like orange."

He scowled at her when she said that. "Did you really think I could hide from you people all this time and keep wearing orange?! I stopped wearing that color around the same time I gave up ramen." He told her. _"And not a single word out of you, furball, do you understand me?!" _He silently warned the Kyūbi, who had already had the "He admits to giving up orange!" banner ready to go.

Kakashi just let that pass. "Now, calm down, Naruto. If you all are ready, we start in three." Everybody prepared to move as Kakashi started the countdown. "Three, two, one, GO!" And the training began.

* * *

><p>Everyone else had joined Shizune and Iruka in the room to watch what would happen, having already been told about it. Tsunade looked more closely at the screen from where she stood next to Shizune. "Do you have the locations of everyone?" She asked Shizune as both Jiraiya and Orochimaru joined her.<p>

"Yes, Captain." She answered promptly. "Kakashi is still standing here in the field. Sakura is about fifty feet to the west, hiding in a tree. Sasuke is about thirty feet to the southeast, behind a rock. And Naruto is…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at the screen.

Orochimaru looked at her. "I thought you said you knew where he was." When he heard Jiraiya groan, he turned and saw him with his face in the palm of his hand and heard him say.

"She does know where the gaki is." He said, pointing at the screen.

* * *

><p>Kakashi looked at the sight in front of him. Having not even moved from his spot, Naruto looked at him with a neutral look on his face. "Naruto, I said go. Are you planning to attack me head on like last time?" He asked with an eye smile.<p>

Naruto shook his head. "No Hatake, I am not the same little twelve year old idiot who thought he was a world class ninja." He laughed. "No, I am going to take a page out of Nara's book." He walked over to the three stumps, sat down in front of the middle one, and began to relax. "I am going to kick back, relax, watch the clouds, and maybe take a nap."

* * *

><p>Sasuke looked around the rock and saw the whole thing. When he focused chakra into his ears to extend his hearing, he heard the entire conversation. <em>"The dobe cannot be serious. This test is focused on him for the love of Kami!" <em>Hethought to himself. As he watched Naruto relaxed, he thought of a plan. _"Right now, I have to meet up with Sakura. If Naruto does not even try to join the fight, both I and Sakura will just try to take on Kakashi-sensei by ourselves. Sooner or later, Naruto will join the fight and then we can accommodate him into our attack plan."_ With the plan set, he moved away in order to meet up with Sakura and discuss tactics.

* * *

><p>Sakura watched the entire scene between Kakashi and Naruto. When Naruto sat down at the stump, she had a look of confusion on her face. Before she could wonder what he was doing, she felt a tap on her left shoulder. She turned and saw that it was Sasuke. "What is Naruto doing? Kakashi-sensei told him it was to test how he could work us now!" She whispered quietly.<p>

"Apparently, he is taking a page out of Shikamaru's book and not joining in the test." When he saw her about to blow her top, he stopped her. "Calm down, Sakura. We both know Naruto won't sit still for long. All we have to do is play hit and run with Kakashi-sensei until he joins us. Once he does that, we will be able to plan appropriately."

She nodded in agreement. "Remind to thump both Naruto and Shikamaru on the head when we jack out." She asked. Sasuke grinned and nodded. They both moved out, readying themselves to engage their sensei.

* * *

><p>Kakashi stood completely still, not believing what he had just heard come from Naruto. "Come on, Naruto. We both you're just playing around. I'll make you a deal: I will give you ten seconds so you can meet up with Sasuke and Sakura, how about it?" He asked as he walked over to the stump left of Naruto and leaned against it.<p>

Naruto stretched and gave a yawn. Kakashi took it as a yes and started to silently count to ten. When he was done counting, Naruto was still sitting against the stump. "I told you, Hatake. I am just sitting back and shooting the breeze, so why would I join up with Uchiha and Haruno?" Naruto asked looking up at him. Before Kakashi could answer, the blonde turned an ear towards the forest. "I think they are waiting for you, Hatake-, so don't keep them waiting." Kakashi shook his head in annoyance and took off towards the forest. "I pulled it off, Kyūbi. Did he take the bait?" Naruto asked the fox.

"**He took it and he didn't even know it. Loved how you did it by the way." **TheKyūbi replied with a big grin.

"Thank you, fox. Now I think I'll take a nap." He closed his eyes.

"**Good idea, I'm right behind you."**

* * *

><p>As everybody was watching the screen, Shikamaru suddenly sneezed. "Hey, Shikamaru, you all right over there? It sounds like you have a cold." Chōji told him.<p>

"It's not that. I only sneezed. But I get the feeling that both Naruto and I should stay away from Sakura for the time being." He said mostly to himself.

"I can't believe this. He is in the middle of a test and he take a nap?!" Tsunade yelled, mostly at the screen.

"He did say that he was taking a page out of Shikamaru's book." Jiraiya pointed out, causing her to glare at Shikamaru, promising a very bloody murder for him. He had the very sudden urge to become a mouse and hide at that glare. But he forced it down and continued to watch the screen.

"Calm down, Tsunade. We all know that the nap won't be long. Once it is, it won't be long before Naruto joins the fight." Orochimaru said to Tsunade. With the facts pointed out, everybody was content to wait for Naruto to wake from his nap and join the fight.

* * *

><p>Naruto was talking to Kyūbi about one of the pervious places they had been to in their travels. "Say what you will fox, but that one restaurant in the Land of Wind served some really good noodles." He declared. They had been quite delicious.<p>

"**I'm not disagreeing, kit. I just think the one in the Land of Water had the better barbeque." **TheKyūbi stated. He was about to reply, only to be stopped by the fox. **"Later, kit,"** He said.** "They're back."**

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura landed in front of the three stumps. Kakashi was the only one who looked calm. Sasuke had a look of extreme annoyance and Sakura had one of anger. "Six hours," Kakashi said to the blonde. "This test went for six hours and you spent it sitting here, not doing a thing to beat the test."

"Actually, I did do something to beat the test." Naruto replied as he stood up.

"Dobe, Sakura and I have just spent six hours playing hit-and-run with Kakashi-sensei because we were waiting for you." Sasuke told him. "Even when we were waiting for you to join, we still tried to get the bells off Kakashi-sensei and we couldn't get close enough. So how did you beat the test?" Sasuke asked in a voice that was only barely calm.

"Simple, I did it in the first five minutes."

"Naruto, don't lie to us. There was no way you could have taken the bells off of me in five minutes." Kakashi told him.

"Then what do you call these?" The blonde raised his hand and opened it. There, in the middle of his palm, were the two bells.

"That can't be right. The bells are still on Kakashi-sensei's belt." Sakura said, pointing to Kakashi's belt. There were two bells on his belt, until Naruto raised his free hand and snapped his fingers. The bells on the belt shimmered and disappeared while the two in Naruto's hand stayed.

"But when did you—" The masked shinobi tried to say, but was cut off by Naruto.

"You obviously didn't pay attention when you were counting to ten, Hatake. And before you asked, I cut the bells off while the fox applied the Genjutsu."

Before anyone could argue, they heard the sound of clapping. Turning around, they saw that Jiraiya was with them. "Very clever, gaki, you took the bells early and then let everyone think that Kakashi still had them. While you didn't exactly pass the test, the Captain says it will have to do for now. We have to move on to the next test." He raised his head to the sky. "Shizune, Iruka, load the jump program."

* * *

><p>The two of them nodded and got to work while the other just looked in shock at the computer screens. They didn't know Naruto could be that deceptive. Before anyone could say anything, Shizune and Iruka were done with uploading the program, so everybody continued to look at the screens.<p>

* * *

><p>Before Naruto could say something, he was back in the Construct. However, a tiny city was just below him and it began zoom up until he was standing on a tall building with Jiraiya, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura.<p>

As he looked around, he noticed that while the city was big, there were only two tall buildings: the one they were on and the one a good ways away to his right. "Naruto, this program is about doing something that would bend or break the rules of the Matrix, as you heard before." Jiraiya told him, making the blonde looked back at him. "In order to do that, you must empty your mind. Empty it completely and let it be free." When he was finished, Jiraiya turned and ran towards the edge of building. The other three followed him. As they hit the edge, they jumped. To Naruto, it looked like they had forgotten the law of gravity due to of the height and distance they had jumped. They landed on the other tall building looking, no worse for wear.

Naruto walked to the edge of the building and looked down. _"Huh, that's a long ways down." _He thought to himself.

"**No kidding. So, how do you know how they did it?" **The fox asked him.

"Don't know, Kyūbi, and honestly? Don'tcare either. Right now, I just want to get out of here."

"**And how are you going to do that?"**

* * *

><p>"I don't think he'll make it." Sasuke stated with firm conviction.<p>

"Now, now, Sasuke, you know there is always a chance that he'll make it." Kakashi said with an eye-smile.

"He won't make it." The Uchiha repeated with firm conviction. "I'd be surprised if he even made half way."

"Would you like to bet on that?"

"Same stakes as last time?"

"Of course" He agreed. "Sakura, are you in?" He asked his other teammate.

"I bet he makes at least three-fourths of the way over, same stakes for me as well." She answered.

Before any of them could ask Jiraiya if he was in, he kept looking at the other building. "What is the gaki up to?" He asked himself.

* * *

><p>"<strong>You are nuts. You have completely lost it."<strong> TheKyūbi told his Jinchūriki. The blonde may have had some weird ideas over the years, but this one, the fox was fairly certain, took the cake.

"Oh, come on, Kyūbi. Don't you have any faith in me?" Naruto asked with a smile as he stepped up the ledge.

"**I did, at one point. But it left the minute you told what your plan was."**

"We're going to be completely fine." He said confidently.

"**Pardon me if I have a hard time believing that."** The fox told him.

* * *

><p>Everybody was making bets on how far Naruto would go and if he made it or not. Everybody, except for Tsunade, she was watching the screens with complete focus. "Tsunade, what's wrong?" Orochimaru asked her, getting everyone's attention.<p>

"What is he doing?" She asked, pointing at the screen and making everyone to look closer. Naruto was standing on the ledge of the building, looking like he didn't have a care in the world. And, as if he knew they were watching, he looked directly at the computer screens, smiled, took one step forward and fell off the building. "Jack him out. Jack him out right now!" She yelled at Shizune and Iruka, who were working furiously to do exactly that.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Did I mention that you are COMPLETELY INSANE?!" <strong>TheKyūbi yelled at Naruto as they fell towards the ground like a stone.

"_Calm down. If I was right, then they will pull me out in about 3…2…1…" _As soon he was done counting down, he was back in the broadcast room with a _very_ angry Tsunade looming over him.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" She yelled at him.

"It's quite simple, Lady Hokage. I wanted to get out, you wouldn't have let me. So I forced your hand." Naruto told her, using that same cold but polite tone he had using practically since he woke up.

"**The fact that you can say that without being scared of her astounds me." **The fox said in wonder. While he himself wasn't afraid of her, he had seen of Tsunade's anger to know what it would entail if she really got angry.

Before Tsunade could start up again, Iruka interrupted her. "Captain, I just got a transmission from New Zion. They expected us three hours ago. They want to know what is going on and they want us to get there, ASAP."

Tsunade growl at the blonde, but nodded in acknowledgement. "Kurenai, you and Anko start the ship up and get us moving, Asuma, I want you on lookout. Shizune and Iruka, jack out the other three." Tsunade turned to Naruto. "When we are done in New Zion, you and I are going to have a long talk about your decisions."

She turned away to other people, issuing orders while Naruto got out of the chair. "We'll see, Lady Hokage, we'll see." He said to himself.

(Location: _Konoha_ Bridge)

Anko was slowly flying the _Konoha_ towards a gate while Kurenai contacted New Zion. Tsunade stood behind them watching the gate come closer. "This is the _Konoha_ contacting New Zion control requesting access to Gate Three." Kurenai stated in a calm voice.

"This is New Zion control. Please have your captain send the clearance code." A voice from the radio said, nodding to Kurenai, Tsunade put in the code that every captain knew and sent it to New Zion control. "Please hold while we confirm the codes authenticity." They did not have to wait long. "Konoha, this is New Zion control, your code is authentic. We will open Gate Three for you and welcome home."

"No place like it." Anko said cheerfully as she drove the ship through the gate.

The entire ship shuddered as it landed. Naruto watched as the ramp in front of him came down. When it finally touched down on the steel platform, he walked ahead of the group. He wanted to get a good look at the "last human city."

What he saw impressed him. He only saw what he thought was the dock but even it was impressive. He saw a tower in the center of the docks emitting a beam up towards the roof of the dome surrounding the docks. He saw the gates that allowed the ships to come in and out. At each gate that was opened, there was something that he could only described as a giant mechanical person with a human as a pilot guarding the gate with something in each of the mechanical hands. They looked to be some sort of weapons.

Before he could look around more, he was interrupted by Shikamaru's voice behind him. "They say that the docks are the only thing to look like it belongs in Old Zion. The rest is completely different." He said as he came down and stood next to the blonde. They watched as the others disembarked from the ship.

When they had all gotten off, a man came up to Tsunade. "Captain Tsunade, you, your two senior officers, and your newest recruit are to go to the Council at once. The Captains of the other ships are already there and are waiting on you." He said to her.

Tsunade nodded once and while the man left, she turned around to face her crew. "Jiraiya, Orochimaru, you heard him. Naruto, you are to come with us and the rest of you, you are off duty until we call you. Dismissed!" She barked. While the others walked away, Naruto followed the Sannin into New Zion.

(Location: New Zion council room)

He took a quick look around the council room before sitting down. The room was square in shape. The council elders sat at one end with the rest of the seats in rows on the other end. Where the elders sat, Naruto recognized the three elders, Homura, Koharu, and Danzō from Konoha, sitting with them. The rest of the council was a mixture of humans who did not have any of the sockets on their arms and those who did.

"Captain Tsunade, step forward!" Danzō called, Tsunade got out of her seat and walked to the space in front of the elders.

"Captain, you sent word ahead that you had managed to find the person you were looking for. If that person is here, please have him come forward." Danzō said in an official voice.

"Yes, elder. Naruto, come up here." Tsunade said turning around to look at the blonde.

He stood up, walked forward and stood before the council, looking them in the eye. "What is your name?" A man to the right of Homura asked him, his voice came out with a low growl, like he didn't trust anybody he did not know. He looked like he had been in more than a few fights, judging from the scars on his face and his arms.

"Naruto Uzumaki." He answered.

"Captain Tsunade informs us that it took the crew of the ship Konoha much longer than they had anticipated in finding you. What the council would like to know is how did that happen if you were with another village?" Koharu asked him.

He looked at Tsunade. "You didn't tell them?" He asked her, making her briefly embarrassment. As she stood silent, He told them all what he did during his years of exile.

"So, you just wandered around the Matrix, not caring where you went, and only after receiving enough training to force your chakra to a civilian's level?" Danzō asked while the other elders looked at each other and whispered in amazement. Naruto nodded and the elder shrugged. "Very well, nevertheless, you are here now and you are safe. And as of now, you shall be reassigned from the _Konoha_ to the—" That was when things turned hectic.

**End**

**Author's note: **Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Now, there are some of you who believed that having Naruto exiled was a cliché and he should leave the _Konoha_ crew and immediately join up with the machines to destroy them. I will admit that having Naruto exiled is a cliché.

_But_, I never said that Naruto would automatically start to trust them, that would be way to easy and also no fun to write. I believe in the idea of Naruto will and can work with the _Konoha_ crew if he has to. But he doesn't trust them and having them regain his trust would take some time. The Naru/Saku pairing, however, would help clear that up and that will come in time, I promise.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	4. Pit Stop and Outcast

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Matrix

Woken from exile

Chapter 3: Pit Stop and Outcast

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Bijū/machine talking"**

"_**Bijū/machine thinking"**_

Messages/Intercom/Transmissions

(Location: the Pit Stop)

The Pit Stop was the watering hole for the people who were a part of a ship's crew. No one was quite sure who started the place, but they all knew that the Pit Stop has been around for as long as anybody can remember. The usual custom for a crew that had just docked in New Zion was to visit the Pit Stop at least once during their stay. That way, they can meet up with other people and swap stories.

The Konoha Eleven sat in a big corner booth, talking about random stuff and basically waiting until it was either time to hit the hay or the captain called them back to the ship. "Does anybody know where Iruka and Anko went to?" Kiba asked to them.

Shino gave his friend a look. "Do you really have to ask that question? You know want those two do when we dock in New Zion." He said.

When Anko was unplugged by the crew of the _Konoha_, the one thing she wanted was to have Iruka unplugged, as she had gotten attached to the Chūnin. When Iruka was unplugged, he began to notice that Anko was always trying to get him alone, but someone would always interrupt them or he slipped away. By the time they had docked in New Zion, Anko had enough. She decided to play her own version of hide-and-go-seek with him. He managed to evade her for the better part of what passed as an afternoon, but in the end, Anko had trapped him alone in a room. She locked the door behind her, jumped Iruka, and rode him in such a way that, had Jiraiya seen it, he could've written an entire book of Icha-Icha. Now every time the _Konoha_ docked in New Zion, Anko would play the same game with him, although it would be safe to say that he was starting to enjoy the game and well what happened afterwards.

Kiba flinched a little bit. "Point taken, Shino, forget I even asked." He wanted to forget those memories anyway he could.

Sasuke smirked a little. "It was your fault for speaking about it. Were you hoping to walk in on them again?" He asked. Kiba's face had a huge blush on it as he remembered what had happen. He was sent by Tsunade to go and look for both Anko and Iruka. They had disappeared for three days while they were in New Zion. He had found them but unfortunately for him, he walked in on them at a very bad time. Until that day, he was absolutely sure that a woman could not bend that way, and he was also pretty sure that a kunai and a ramen bowl were not supposed to be used like that. As a result, he avoided both Iruka and Anko for the better part of four weeks. It didn't help when Anko realized why he was avoiding them and began to tease him about it. Tsunade finally put an end to it when Kiba was seriously considering asking to be transferred.

Chōji decided to intervene before Kiba embarrassed himself. "Hey, Shikamaru, how do you think Naruto is taking all of this?" He asked his friend, bringing the attention to him.

Shikamaru stared at his drink in thought. "Normally, I say Naruto would be freaking out about everything that he saw." He said. "But he's different now. I don't know what to make of him."

"Hn, the dobe isn't different. He'll be back to the old annoying idiot that we all know." Sasuke stated with complete confidence. _"And love."_ He silently added (it would've seemed out of character for him to say it out loud). He had missed the fights and arguments he had gotten into with the blonde, never realizing it until it was too late. They all missed him, and they all wanted things to go back to the way they were.

Seeing how everyone was becoming gloomy from remembering how Naruto used to be (his attitude on the _Konoha_ had stunned them), Ino turned to Sakura. "Speaking of Naruto, what did you think about him in his new outfit, forehead?" She asked her friend with a suggestive wiggle of her eyes.

It got the desired effect. "That's none of your business, Ino!" Sakura said while blushing heavily.

She grinned. "So you _did_ enjoy the view. I knew was right choosing those clothes!" She said in triumph. "Naruto looked really hot in them."

Tenten smiled a little. Ino was right about that "There is no denying that, Naruto was definitely hot in those clothes."

"In that case, I recommended you ladies get your eyes checked and double-check your sense of fashion." Naruto's voice said to them. They turned to look at where the voice had come from and saw him standing in front of their table.

"There is nothing wrong with my sense of fashion, Naruto." Ino stated indignantly. "You really did look good in those clothes. Why didn't you see that?"

He stared at her, making break eye contact and look away after a few seconds. "You might want to get your hearing checked as well as your eyesight, Yamanaka. I told Haruno, and I know the rest of you were listening, that I stopped wearing orange for quite some time. And those clothes were eyesores." She tried to come up with a response but while she did, he turned around and headed toward the bar. He sat down and ordered water.

"Don't be so troublesome, Naruto. You know that Ino was trying to be nice to you, she honestly thought that you would like the clothes." Shikamaru said as he joined Naruto at the bar.

"She missed." He replied curtly.

"Don't act like that, Naruto. We're still your friends, right?" Chōji asked him as he sat down next to Shikamaru. He wore a friendly smile but it didn't reach his eyes. Those were filled with worry.

"Yeah, come on, Naruto! We are just trying to help you out." Kiba stated as he sat down on the other side of the blonde. He had a bigger grin plastered on his face then Chōji, but they had the same amount of worry in their eyes.

"Then stop trying. I don't want it." Naruto said to the both of them as his water was placed in front of him. By that time, the rest of the Konoha Eleven had joined the group at the bar, so everyone had heard what Naruto had said.

"Why do you say that, Naruto?" Neji asked him. The blonde's words hurt him, but they also made him want to know why.

"Simple. When I was told that I was exiled, I looked to you guys and I asked for your help, to defend what I did. And all you did was turned your heads away. Your help is about six years late and not needed anymore." He stated in a cold and matter-of-fact tone of voice as he took a sip of the water in front of him.

"How very unyouthful of you, Naruto," Lee nearly yelled at him. "That is not youthful at all!" Some of the bar's other patrons turned to look at him with scowls on their faces.

"Can it, Lee. You didn't help then either. You are in no position to talk." The blonde told him, making him at a loss for words.

Sakura could not take it anymore. "What is with you, Naruto? Why are you acting like this?" She demanded of him. "We saved your life, showed you the real world, took you in, and even tried to train you. So what is with this entire attitude you have? For Kami's sake, you're acting like Sasuke back when we had just graduated from the Academy!" Everybody nodded in agreement with what she said, although Sasuke looked a bit offended.

He gave her a cold look, his blue eyes hard and cold. "Considering that is coming from you, Haruno, I would have thought that you would've liked it if I was acting like Uchiha." He took the glass in front of him and drained the contents of it. Everybody was completely stunned at what he had just said. They could not believe that he had basically said that Sakura was still an Uchiha Fangirl. More importantly, they had just heard Naruto insult Sakura right to her face, which was thought to never happen. It was common belief among the Konoha Eleven that Naruto still loved Sakura, which kept her hopes up about him. What they had just seen was the possibility of that belief was not true anymore.

But she just looked at him with disbelief on her face. "What happened to you, Naruto? You used to be so cheerFūl and happy."

"I grew up, Haruno. I expected you to do the same. Obliviously, I was mistaken." His cold words cut right into her. She just stood there, hearing those words repeated over and over again in her head.

Before anybody could say a word, Shikamaru felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around he saw it was a person that he knew quite well. "Hey, troublesome woman, how are things on the _Suna_?"

The woman grinned. "Not bad, little boy, not bad at all. How are things with you?" She asked him

He shrugged. "It's a little confusing on the _Konoha_ right now. But other than that, we are fine. Thanks for asking, Temari," He said as he looked at her. She had, in his opinion, grown into one hell of a woman and a bombshell to boot. She had the curves in the right places and some nice legs. She and him been dating since he had been unplugged (Temari, along with Kankurō and Gaara, had been unplugged a year before the Konoha Eleven), and after Shikamaru was warned by Kankurō that if he hurt her in any way, he was going to be a dead man. Gaara had given him a more subtle threat, which involved a searing hot kunai, being stranded in the desert, and the art of castration.

Naruto looked away from the glass in front of him and saw Temari standing next to Shikamaru. "Hey, Temari, how's it going?" He asked.

"Not much with me, you on the other hand, you definitely have things going." She replied, chuckling a little bit.

"**That's a way to say it." **The Kyūbi said offhandedly.

"_I hear that, fox." _The blonde silently replied.

"Anyway I am here to escort you to the _Outcast_, Naruto." Temari told him, being all business. "Are you ready to head out?"

He looked at the empty glass in front of him before turning towards her. "Might as well." He said in reply. He got up and left with Temari, leaving the Konoha Eleven there.

As they just sat there, Shizune came into the Pit Stop and walked over to them. "Captain Tsunade has ordered us to meet up at the ship. So finish up and get moving." She told them. She turned around and left the Pit Stop.

They got up from where they sat and followed after her. They were about half way to the door when Kiba stopped. "Kiba, what's wrong?" Hinata asked her teammate.

"Did Naruto seem a bit too friendly towards Temari?" Kiba asked everybody.

"They do know each other, Kiba." Tenten reminded him.

"That's not what I mean. I mean that when he saw her, he wasn't surprised to see her in here, in the real world. They acted casually, like they knew each other." He said.

"They know each other." She repeated.

"Yeah, but not enough to act like that with one another," He told her. Then he realized something. "Captain Tsunade told us that plan was to have Naruto be indirectly forced to go to another village, have him trained there, and then sent back to the village when he was ready. If Naruto had stopped by Sunagakure in his exile, why didn't they train him and send him back to us?" When everybody heard this, they could understand what he was trying to say.

But before anybody could make a comment on what he had said, Ino realized something. "Wait a minute, why was Temari escorting Naruto to the _Outcast_? Naruto still belongs with us on the _Konoha_, right?" She asked them.

Everyone stood there silently, trying to go over everything they had just heard. "This is probably going to be troublesome." Shikamaru said. "But we should probably get to the docks quickly, shouldn't we?" The fact that everybody started to run out of the Pit Stop, Shikamaru included, pretty much answered that question.

(Location: New Zion docks)

"I present to you, the ship _Outcast_!" Temari announced in an exaggerated formal tone, gesturing to the ship that stood before them. Naruto looked at it. Despite the fact he didn't really get a full look on how the _Konoha_ looked on the outside, he could see that the _Outcast_ was slimmer than the _Konoha_. And compared to the other ships that were currently docked, which were big and somewhat bulky, the _Outcast_ was smaller and looked like it was built for speed.

"Seems a bit small compared to the other ships, but maybe that's just me and my opinion." He commented. He then noticed someone who was standing next to the ramp leading into the ship.

That got him a quiet chuckle from the person standing next to the ramp of the ship "Trust me, Naruto. It's not just you and your opinion." He said to the blonde. He walked up to him and stopped, looking him in the eye. Naruto didn't look away. He returned the look.

When the Konoha Eleven had reached the docks, a full five minutes of silence had passed between the two of them. It was broken when Naruto tried to punch him in the face. But instead, he caught the punch with his hand. After a minute of struggling against each other, they stop, lowered their hands, stepped back, and took a breath. Naruto then grinned at the person. "I was definitely not expecting that block. I thought I could get a good clean one on your face." He said.

The person smiled. "Most people don't expect me to block with my hands here, it gives me an advantage." The smile turned into a slight frown. "But what was the punch for?"

"When were you unplugged, exactly?" The blonde asked him.

"Four years ago." He promptly answered. "You still haven't answered my question."

"You've been lying to me for the past four years, Gaara, every time I stopped by to visit." Naruto told him, a little annoyed at him. "You could've told me about all this." He gestured all both them, trying to emphasize his point.

"You wouldn't have believed me if I had told you." The redhead retorted. He had gotten taller over the years, but was still a little shorter then Naruto. He still had that tattoo above his left eye and he still looked like he didn't even sleep. But despite all that, he looked happy to see his friend again.

"…You have a point." The blonde reluctantly admitted. If he had been told the truth, he probably would've wondered if the lack of sleep was finally getting to his friend. "It's good to see you, Gaara."

"It's good to see you too, Naruto. It'll be good to have you on the _Outcast_." Gaara told him.

Before he could say anything in response, they were interrupted. "Wait, Gaara, what do you mean 'have you on the _Outcast_?'" Tenten asked. "Naruto is with us on the _Konoha_."

He raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Haven't you been told?" When they only looked confused, he sighed. "I will let your captain explain. Here she comes." He pointed to Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru who were walking towards the group and the _Konoha_ (which, oddly enough, had docked right next to the _Outcast_.) with the rest of the crew right behind them.

"Captain Tsunade." He said curtly when she looked over at him.

"Naruto, why are you doing this?" She asked him. However, she got her answer from Gaara instead.

"Tsunade, you know the law." The redhead told her. He had been in the council room when they asked Naruto to step forward. He saw what happened afterwards.

"No! He belongs with us on the _Konoha_, not on the _Outcast_!" She replied angrily. She had tried to get that idea passed the council, but she had been shot down, repeatedly. Even the one person she had thought would have her back didn't help her.

"You know the law, Tsunade." He repeated himself. "Just because he was from your village doesn't change the fact that he wouldn't have stayed on your ship." They both knew he was going to be transferred the minute he got to New Zion.

"Captain, with all due respect, what is going on?" Ino asked Tsunade with a rising fear in the pit of her stomach. She didn't like where this was going.

The captain of the _Konoha_ looked at her crew with a defeated look. "The council elders have decided that Naruto will be taken off the _Konoha_ and be put on the _Outcast_." She told them.

After a few minutes of shocked silence, Sakura exploded. "What? The council elders can't do that!" She protested loudly.

"Yes, they can, Sakura." Orochimaru said. "One of the laws of New Zion that you are not aware of is that when a Jinchūriki is unplugged, they are to be placed on a ship for them alone ASAP, in this case, the _Outcast_."

"And that's not all." Jiraiya said, getting their attention. "The elders have also declared that because of our actions, the _Konoha_ has been grounded for the time being."

Shikamaru looked at his captain in confusion. "Captain, what exactly did you do that got all of us grounded?" He asked her.

"I can answer that, Nara." Everyone turned to Naruto. "The reason the crew of the _Konoha_ is grounded because of the actions of Captain Tsunade and the senior members of the _Konoha_. The actions were the choice of unplugging me from the Matrix without my opinion in the matter." He had purposely let that little tidbit of information slip during Tsunade's plea, getting her into the trouble she was in now.

His eyes widened in surprise. "You don't mean… Captain Tsunade would never have done that." It was unthinkable to even consider breaking that law. It was one of the basic laws New Zion had been built upon. No one would break it!

"Are you so sure of that, Nara? Can you say with complete certainty that she wouldn't?" The blonde asked him.

"Hey, Shikamaru, what are you two talking about? What do you mean the captain would have never done 'that'?" Chōji asked him with a small amount of fear in his voice.

He looked at Naruto, who took a step back and bowed mockingly, as if to say "would you do the honors?" Seeing no other way of saying what needed to be said, he turned to the Konoha Eleven. _"What a drag this going to turn out to be"_ He thought to himself. "Captain Tsunade decided to unplugged Naruto without giving him the choice. She did this with the full knowledge and acceptance of the senior crewmembers."

While they all stared at him, trying to comprehend what they just heard, Naruto leaned over to Gaara. "Can we go now?" He whispered. He didn't feel like staying any longer. Things might turn ugly if he did.

"We might as well." The redhead replied. He shared a silent goodbye with his sister before she turned and left.

"So, what kind of crew I'm going to be serving with?" The blonde asked as they turned and walked into the ship.

"Oh, I have a feeling that you'll like this crew." Gaara stated with a smirk as they entered the _Outcast_. By the time the crew of the _Konoha_ had realized that Naruto hadn't said anything, he wasn't there with them.

(Location: the _Outcast_)

"Here is the cafeteria. We usually take meals as a group, but if someone wants to eat alone, they come on their own time." Gaara explained as he showed Naruto the room stepping into it.

As Naruto looked around the room, he saw that it was a pretty decent room. It just roomy enough to let people moved around the table but would still be in reach of the food. The kitchen look like it was well used. He then noticed a big metal barrel of water that had chucks of ice in it. "Hey, Gaara, what's that for?" He asked, pointing to the barrel.

The redhead looked at where he was pointing. "Oh, that's the Cooler." He answered.

Naruto looked at him with a puzzled look. "Why do you call it that? It's just a barrel full of water and ice, right?" As if to answer his question, a man came in to the cafeteria from the door, walked over to the Cooler, gripped both sides of the barrel, plunged his head into the water and held it there. Naruto thought he heard the man screaming while his head was under (he could see the bubbles floating up to the surface).

"Who was it this time, Zehn?" Gaara asked once the man finally pulled his head out to take a breath.

Zehn looked over at Gaara, so Naruto got a look at him. He had black hair and it look like he didn't have any sockets on his arms. If Naruto had guessed, the man was born in New Zion. "It was yours, Gaara. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm not done here." And with that, he plunged his head back into the water.

"As you can see, the Cooler allows you to get rid of stress, lets you yell at something and if necessary, gives you a decent poor man's cold shower." Gaara said to Naruto as they left the cafeteria (and the man to his screaming).

"Why would you need a poor man's cold shower?" Naruto asked. It sounded a bit odd to him.

"One thing you learn quickly on the _Outcast_: never have sex onboard. If you do, not only will they sneak in and watch, they will critique and criticize you the next morning. So, in order to calm down your hormones when they act up, you use the Cooler, hence the term 'a poor man's cold shower.'" The redhead explained.

"One question: who in the name of the Bijū are 'they'?"

"Funny you should use that phrase…" Gaara began to say, only to be interrupted when both he and Naruto heard a yell of **"GAAAAAAAAAARAAAAAAAAA!"** from the down the corridor. Then, with a sudden _thump_, there was a big brown tanuki on top of Gaara's head.

"**Hey, where've you been, Gaara? I was getting bored so I went looking around and do you know want I found? Huh? Huh? Do ya? I found bunnies on the ship! But it struck me as odd. Why would we have bunnies on the ship? So I went after them. I lost them, so I ask Zehn if he had seen them but all he did was leave without answering my question. He was so mean!"** The tanuki said so quickly, Naruto almost didn't have any idea what it was saying (key word: almost).

Gaara sighed. "Shukaku." He said, pulling the tanuki from his head and holding it in front of his face by the scruff of its neck. "Have you been drinking again?" He asked as he sniffed Shukaku for alcohol.

"**Maaaaaaybbbbbeeeeee,"** Shukaku said drawing it out in a singsong voice. Gaara's eyebrow twitched as he put the tanuki on the floor.

"Shukaku, do you remember our discussion after that little incident in the engine room?" He asked. He was beginning to feel a headache coming on.

"**But I was booooreeeed."** The tanuki whined at him.** "What did you want me to do, the conga? I know! I could go and try to find the bunnies! Can I, Gaara, please? Please? Pleaassssse?" **

"Fine," Gaara muttered, he wasn't going to win this argument. His answer caused the tanuki to jumping up and down in joy.

"**YAY! THANK YOU, GAARA! OH BUNNIES, HERE COMES SHUKAKKKKKUUUUUU!"** The tanuki yelled out loud as he charged out of the corridor.

Both the blonde and the redhead just stare in the direction he ran. "Gaara, did I just see the same Bijū I fought six years ago?" Naruto asked like he had seen something really weird (In this case, can you blame him?).

Yes, you did." Gaara answered with a small smile. Even though he didn't like it when Shukaku got drunk, it was amusing to watch the reaction of newcomers when they met the tanuki.

"What is he doing on the ship? I was fairly certain that the last time we talked, he was still inside you." The blonde was also fairly certain that he should've been bigger, not the same size as a large stuffed toy.

"That will be explained when you meet up with the rest of the crew." He assured him. "Is there anything else?"

"Is he always like that?" Naruto asked as they walked down the corridor.

"No, he only acts like that when he is drunk. It is definitely not going be any more fun when he has a hangover." Gaara said, mostly to himself. "Quite frankly, the only time any of us can deal with Shukaku is when he is sober and we've managed to hide the alcohol from him."

"Okay." He didn't really know what else to say to that. "Just out of curiosity and my sense of safety: what exactly happened in the engine room?"

"Let me put this way, Naruto: if the ship suddenly takes a nosedive while we're flying, don't panic."

He stopped where he stood and processed that information. "I'm not sure if that's reassuring or not." He admitted. It sounded a little terrifying.

"You'll get used to it fairly soon. Heck, odds are that you might enjoy it." Some of the crew certainly did.

"If you say so, Gaara," He said to his friend. "But I have my doubts."

"You'll have to wait until the ship takes a nosedive, I guess. In the meantime, we should hurry to the broadcast room. The rest of the crew is waiting there."

"By all means, lead on." The redhead did and the blonde followed. Together, they made their way through the corridors and levels of the _Outcast_. It was a little confusing to Naruto, but he kept his faith in his friend and followed him.

Finally, Gaara stopped before a door. "Well, here we are." He said, opening the door to the broadcast room. He went in first and the blonde followed. As Gaara went to talk to the other people in the room, Naruto hung back in order to get a look. It was a little bit smaller than the _Konoha_ broadcast room, but he figured it was like that because of the fewer people on the _Outcast_. There were nine chairs around the console and it looked like each person had their own chair.

"Naruto, get over here." Gaara's call snapped him out of his observation. Looking over towards to Gaara, he noticed that the rest of the crew was standing nearby along with what he guessed were their respective Bijū in the same size he saw Shukaku in.

"Sorry, I was just looking around." He said sheepishly as he came over. After he came over, one person who Naruto assumed was the captain stepped forward to talk to him.

"You'll have time to look around later, Naruto. Right now, let's give out some introductions, you already know Gaara and I assume you ran into Shukaku already." When Naruto nodded, he continued. "That's good to know, saves a bit of time. And in the field, Gaara's codename is Dune."

"Understood, sir." answered Naruto.

"Thank you. This is Yugito Nii from the Hidden Cloud and was unplugged by the _Kumo_, her codename is Persian. Also here is the Nibi, Matatabi." The woman had long, straight blonde hair and a calm expression on her face. The blue cat who sat next to her feet had two different eye colors; its right eye was yellow while its left eye was green.

"Hello, Yugito, and hello to you, Matatabi." He greeted the both of them. He also knelt down to scratch Matatabi.

"**Ohhhh yes, that's good, right there. I tell you this, Yugito, I like him already."** The cat stated to her Jinchūriki, purring in content.

Yugito smiled. "Matatabi doesn't say that to a lot of people, Naruto. You must be good with your fingers." She commented.

He got up from where he knelt. "I don't know about my fingers, but I have been told I'm good with my hands." He then turned back to the person who was doing the introductions. "Please continue, sir."

"Of course," He said, moving onto the next two people. "Here is both Rōshi and Han from the Hidden Stone and were both unplugged by the _Iwa_. Their codenames are Molten and Gauge, respectively. The little red monkey on Rōshi's shoulder is the Yonbi, Son Gokū. The little white horse with the dolphin's head next to Han is the Gobi, Kokuō." Despite looking slightly old, Rōshi's hair and beard were completely red, the same color that Son had for fur. Han was easy to notice because of the fact that he towered over everyone else. He wore a white cloth over both the top of his head and his mouth, making Naruto if he had met Kakashi.

"**So this is the new recruit. He doesn't look like much, does he, Rōshi, Han, Kokuō?"** Son said as he sized Naruto up, looking the blonde up and down.

While both Rōshi and Kokuō nodded, Han gave it some thought. "The four of us said the same thing to the captain once. Now look at how he is doing." He said quietly.

"Sorry guys, but we really should continue with the introductions." The captain quickly said. It was as if he was trying to stop the four of them from talking about him. "This is Utakata from the Hidden Mist and was unplugged by the _Kiri_. His codename is Watcher. The little white slug on the floor is the Rokubi, Saiken." Utakata had black hair and was fiddling with a pipe.

"Hello Utakata, Saiken" Naruto greeted the two of them.

"Hey, Naruto," Utakata said a little lazily.

"**That's all you have to say? We get a new member on board and you say **_**hey**_**?!"** Saiken exclaim loudly. He looked up at his Jinchūriki with an annoyed expression

"What do you want me to say?" Utakata asked with a groan. He really didn't want to get into one of their arguments right now.

After he said that, the two started to bicker with each other. Naruto looked back at the captain for help. "Don't worry, they do this all the time and it's not seriously." He answered Naruto's unasked question. "Shall we continue?" After the blonde nodded, he turned to the next person. "This is Fū from the Hidden Waterfall and was unplugged by the _Taki_. Her codename is Emerald. The little blue beetle buzzing around her head is the Nanabi, Chōmei." Fū seemed to be the human definition of "carefree." The surprising part about her was her hair. It was completely green and Naruto was pretty sure it was all natural.

"Hey, Naruto, it's going to be fun having you around. Right, Chōmei?" She asked the bug who had just settled into her hair.

"**Yes, it should be quite fun having Naruto on the **_**Outcast**_**." **The Nanabi said in agreement.

"Well, let's see what happens. Okay, Fū, Chōmei?" Naruto asked the both of them.

"Okay, Naruto." She replied. "Hey, Chōmei, how many times have I asked you stop using my hair as a nest?!" She demanded of him. The two of them started to argue about whether hair was a suitable option for nesting.

The captain just shook his head. "Sorry about that. It's an argument that they have often."

Naruto smiled. "It's no problem. Shall we continue?"

"Yes. Here is Killer Bee." He introduced the last person. "Like Yugito, he is from the Hidden Cloud and was unplugged by the _Kumo_. His codename is Rapper. The cross between an ox and an octopus on the floor is the Hachibi, Gyūki." Bee had no shirt on and only wore a grey pair of pants. The only thing he had on above the waist was a slightly tattered white bandanna on his head. He was holding a little black book that gave Naruto a bad feeling.

"Yo, Naruto! How've you been, ya fool?" Bee rapped as he closed the book.

"Hey, Bee, still rapping I see." Naruto had met Bee four years ago on the road, Naruto was just walking around the Land of Lighting and Bee was taking a "vacation" away from his village. They had traveled together for about three months, so Naruto knew all about Bee's rapping ability (which is to say that it's nonexistent).

"Only every day, I'm gonna rap so good you won't know what to say!"

"**Bee, for the sake of my sanity, could you please stop rapping for at least 10 minutes?!"** Gyūki asked with a threatening glare.

"Lighten up Eight-O, I'm too cool to slow down with my rapping, ya know?" He told his Bijū.

"**THAT'S IT, BEE, COME HERE!"** The Hachibi launched himself at Bee's face. The two of them started fighting each other and the Bijū was winning.

"Well that is everyone except for me." The captain said as Naruto turned back to him and away from the fight. "My name is Yagura. I'm from the Hidden Mist. But even though I was the Mizukage, I wasn't the pervious captain of the _Kiri_. But now, I am the captain of the _Outcast_. My codename is Scarface. The little grey turtle that is currently at my feet is the Sanbi, Isobu." The most notable thing about Yagura, besides from his light grey hair, was the fact that his eyes were completely pink and he had a scar going from under his left eye and down his cheek.

"**Hello, Naruto, it is nice to meet you."** Isobu said quietly.

"Hello, Isobu. It's nice to meet you as well." Naruto then looked at Yagura. "Captain, I mean no disrespect, but from the way it sounds, both Rōshi and Han have been on this ship longer then you have. Why isn't one of them the captain?"

Yagura smiled. "No need to worry Naruto, I'm not offended. The reason is that, while both Rōshi and Han have been on the _Outcast_ then me, one of the laws of New Zion states that every ship's captain must either be the leader of their village or a Kage. And since I was the Yondaime Mizukage, I captain the ship."

"Wait a minute. Gaara, didn't you tell me that you had been appointed as the Godaime Kazekage?" Naruto asked as he looked at his friend.

"Yes, that's correct." The redhead answered him.

"So, if you're the Kazekage and the _Suna_ isn't in your command, who did you leave in charge? Baki?" He asked with a curious expression on his face.

"…Naruto, there are days where I think you know me too well." Gaara told him.

Before he could answer that, the door from where he and Gaara came through opened. Zehn stepped through. And in his right hand, being held by the tail was a drowsy Shukaku. "Gaara, I thought you had hidden all the alcohol." He said to him, handing the tanuki over to him.

"Of course I had hidden them." He protested as he took the Bijū. "But he keeps finding them."

"In any case, you know what this means." He said to the redhead.

"I know. We have to hide the alcohol again." He sighed, which had made Shukaku stir a little.

"**Hey, Gaara, I feel a little sleepy but I don't why. Should I just go to sleep?"** The tanuki asked slurring his words a little bit. After Gaara had said yes, Shukaku wiggled a bit to get comfortable and saw Naruto. **"Hey, Naruto, did you see where the bunnies went? I thought I had almost had…."** He didn't finish that sentence as he had fallen asleep and also started to

Trying to bring the conversation away from where it was going, Yagura made one last introduction for Naruto. "This is our operator, Zehn." The man turned to Naruto when he was introduced.

"It's nice to meet you without your head in a barrel of cold water, Zehn." Naruto said in greeting.

"I guess you saw that, huh?" Zehn asked, looking a little embarrassed.

"He was with me when you were in the cafeteria Zehn." Gaara said, coming back into the room.

"That reminds me. Naruto, I need you to come with me." Zehn told him. He moved to the console and started typing.

"What do you need, Zehn?"

"Give me a minute." He was typing incredibly fast, bringing up a program that read:

Bijū detachment program on standby, please insert link and enter password.

"Okay then. Naruto, stand right there and hold still." Zehn told him pointing to a spot next to one of the keyboards.

He walked over to the designated spot. "What is this all about, OW!" He suddenly cried. "Hey Gaara, that hurt!" He whined. Gaara had walk up behind Naruto and inserted one of the cables into the base of his skull. "I really wish you people would give me some warning, I'm pretty sure that socket back is getting sore." The blonde grumbled.

Gaara gave him a look that asked him if he was serious. "No, Naruto, that 'socket' as you call it does not get sore. Also please don't call it a socket, it sounds a little too disturbing. Just call it the 'headjack' like the rest of us."

"If you two are done, I need Naruto to pay attention to the screen right now." Zehn told them in a deadpan voice. When Naruto looked back at the screen, it read:

Link inserted and stable, Bijū detachment program ready. Please enter password.

"Well, Zehn, what's the password?" Naruto asked, looking at the Operator.

"That's the thing. With this program, the password is different for every person. If you want the password, try talking to your Bijū and getting his name."

"Alright then, give me a minute." He closed his eyes. _"Hey, Kyūbi, are you in there?"_ He calledout.

"**Yeah, what do you want?" **The Kyūbi asked him.

"_I need to know your name."_

"**And why do I need to give you that vital piece of information?" **It was _his name_. He wasn't to give it up for anything less than a good reason.

"_I was told that your name was the password to something called a 'Bijū detachment program' whatever that is. So, are you going to give me your name or not?"_

"_**It's about time they started that program, might as well give the kit my name." **_The fox thought to himself.

As the rest of the crew looked on, Naruto opened his eyes. "Alright, he gave me his name. Zehn, move over for a minute, okay?" With Zehn out of the way, Naruto began to type on the keyboard. What he typed showed on the screen, reading:

Password: Kurama

Once that was in, he hit the enter button on the keyboard. A couple of seconds passed before the computer responded:

Processing password…password accepted, launching detachment program.

Before he could ask what would exactly happen, he suddenly lost strength in his legs and collapse on the floor, also losing conscious.

When he came to, he notices that he had gotten the strength in his legs back and was able to stand up. "Was I the only one to be unconscious?" He asked the crew as he got back on his feet, feeling a little embarrassed.

Fū shook her head and smiled. "Don't worry about, Naruto. It happened to everyone else here as well." She assured him.

"In any case, take a look at your feet." Utakata suggested with a grin.

Naruto looked down. At his feet was a small orange fox with nine tails behind it with a smug look on its face. **"How was the floor, Naruto? Or did you not find it to your liking?"** The fox asked him with a mirthful smile.

He just sighed in response. "You know, Kyūbi, it is just amazing." When he saw Kyūbi's confused look, he continued. "You are that small and yet, you are still annoying." He looked up at the humans on the crew. "So, what does detachment mean exactly? Is Kyūbi completely out of me or not?" He asked Yagura.

The captain shook his head. "No, Kurama is not all out of you. When we detached Kurama from you, we separated the two you physically but his chakra is still inside of you. Also when you jack into the Matrix, Kyūbi can only talk to you via your mind." He paused for a minute. "More importantly Naruto, what do you know about the Bijū and how they were created?"

"I only know the story about the Sage of the Six Paths." He answered. "But I don't know if that story holds any water now."

"I best fill you in on some things. We think that story somehow came out of the event 300 years ago, along with the Bijū themselves. What we do know is how the machines deal with them. To the machines, the Bijū are just big packets of data to be used as weapons. The machines tried inserting the Bijū into babies who were just plugged into the Matrix, therefore creating the Jinchuuriki. To the machines, we're experiments that, if we were still plugged into the Matrix and we had gained control over our Bijū, the Machines would have tried to convert us to be on their side of the war even if we were unplugged." He explained. "Thankfully, once they realized what the machines were trying to do, New Zion made it a priority to rescue every Jinchuuriki that was still plugged into the Matrix."

"I'm guessing that the machines didn't take that sitting down, huh?" Naruto asked him. Somehow, he already knew the answer.

"That would be an understatement of epic proportions, Naruto. Because of what New Zion did, the machines responded by targeting ships that had Jinchuuriki onboard and killing them. They then stole the dead bodies, cut the Bijū out of the body, and insert it into a new baby, thus starting the cycle all over again."

"**This entire cycle was once explained to me as 'a long game of shogi'." **The Kyūbi told him. He then turned to the other Bijū. **"I know it was one of us who said that but I can't remember who. Do any of you know?" **Before anyone could answer that question, a loud snore erupted from the open door.

"**Does that answer your question?"** Gyūki asked from where he sat atop of Bee's chest (having won the fight).

"**Yes, it does. I had forgotten how loud Shukaku snores when he gets drunk." **The fox replied, wincing as if he remembered a bad memory.

Naruto watched all of this and thought about everything. Then he remembered that Yagura said something that was a little odd. "Captain, you said that the machines would attack any ship that had a Jinchuuriki on board. So why is there a law that says we all have to serve on the _Outcast_? Isn't that like putting your eggs all in one basket?" He asked.

"The council elders did consider that, but they also wanted to avoid unnecessary deaths and loss of ships. The law is about twenty years old or so now. The council had built the _Outcast_ for the Jinchūriki. It was built for speed. That way, we have a better chance of surviving an assault by the machines." Yagura told him.

"I did notice that, Captain. It just makes me wonder how many times the machines have attacked a ship to get at the Jinchūriki."

"Too many time to be counted easily, Naruto." He answered solemnly. "In fact, out of all those attacks, there was only one person who survived."

"Who was that person?" The blonde asked. They all heard the door being opened. When he turned around, he saw someone he honestly did not expect. It was one of the council elders. She was the one with the long, maroon-colored hair and a warm, old, gentle face.

"To answer your question, Naruto, I was the person who survived." She told him as she walked forward a little, her cane tapping lightly against the floor.

Everyone else, minus the Bijū, stood at attention. "Lady Mito, we did not expect you to be joining us. Is there anything you need?" Yagura asked her.

"Thank you, Captain Yagura. I only wished to talk to Naruto and Kurama." She told him politely.

As she spoke, Kyūbi walked over to her and started talking to her. **"Mito, why are you not dead yet?" **He asked her rather rudely.

She smiled, bent down, and flicked his nose with her finger. "Still rude as ever I see, Kurama." She said to him, somehow managing to sound chastising while also sounding amused.

"**I really wished you would stop doing that** **to me." **He said, rubbing his stung nose. It hurt every time she did and he never liked it. If she kept it up, his nose would be a brighter red then his fur.

Naruto decided to move in on the conversation. "Ma'am, why exactly do you want to talk to me and Kyūbi?" He asked her. He had only seen the one time during the council meeting and she hadn't really done anything.

"I believe that should be told in private." She said, looking at him. She then turned to Yagura. "Captain, might I borrow your cafeteria?" He nodded. "Thank you. Please follow me, Naruto. You too, Kurama," She told the two of them. She left with the blonde and the fox following her.

(Location: _Outcast_ cafeteria)

He sat down at the table. She sat on the opposite side while the Kyūbi sat on the table. "So, what exactly do you know about me, Naruto?" Mito asked him.

"Besides what I saw in the court room, there is not much I can say with certainty." Naruto told her. "You have the same diamond mark on your forehead that Tsunade has. She kept looking over at you the entire time she was trying to convince the elders to let me stay on the _Konoha_. She looked shocked when you chose to reject her plea along with the rest of the elders. So my guess is that somehow the two of you are related."

"That was actually quite impressive." She told him.

"**You can thank me for that, Mito. I taught the gaki everything I knew about analyzing things." **The Kyūbi said with pride.

Naruto looked down at the fox. "Kyūbi, your idea of teaching was to show me the basics and then let me fend for myself." He retorted.

The fox rolled his eyes. **"It worked, didn't it? And would you please call me by my name already? It's a little annoying** **that you still call me Kyūbi when you know my name."**

He sighed in slight exasperation. "Okay. I'll start calling you Kurama, happy?" He asked the Bijū, who responded with a satisfied nod.

Mito chuckled, causing the other two to look back at her. "Sorry, it was just a little Fūnny watching the two of you. But yes, Naruto, you are right. Captain Tsunade and I are related. Allow me to actually introduce myself. I am Mito Uzumaki, council elder of New Zion and grandmother of Captain Tsunade Senju."

He was shocked but remembered his history (during one of the rare days he had actually paid attention in class) and saw that it made sense. "Well, it's nice to know that I have family somewhere in the real world and I also managed to meet one of them." He finally said.

"Speaking of family, I have a question for you, Naruto." She told him, actually sounding serious. "It concerns you and my granddaughter."

"What about her?" He asked with suspicion. He wasn't sure where this conversation was going to go and that made him want to be very careful.

"How long will you hate her for what she did?" She asked, looking him straight in the eye. Kurama looked up and watched his current Jinchūriki with an interested look.

"I don't hate her." He answered. "I just don't trust her or her crew, except for Iruka-sensei."

"To some people, not trusting somebody is the same as hatred." She pointed out. She had seen more than a few times.

"That's their opinion, not mine." The blonde told her shortly.

"Naruto, don't be hard on Tsunade. She used to talk about you with me every time the _Konoha_ docked in New Zion." She told him. "She talked about what you did when you lived in the Hidden Leaf, what kind of pranks you pulled and how you managed to brighten her day even when you annoyed her. She often said that she thought of you like you were her own grandson. I often thought that if she was given the choice, she would have taken you away from all this in a heartbeat. She would have kept you hidden, but would have made sure that you were loved and have a family. I think that Jiraiya and Orochimaru would have helped out and made sure you were protected from anything that would've harmed you." He snorted in disbelief, but she continued on. "She desperately wanted you back and safe, Naruto. That was why she had you unplugged in the first place. She also thought that the idea to exile you was the best way to make sure you weren't harm. If things had gone according to plan, she could've seen you again in two years, no more than three."

"She was still stupid enough to go with the idea. She didn't bother to even fight it! Some grandmother she is." Naruto stated with sight disgust. He could still remember that day and he never wanted to. He wanted to forget that day.

"Naruto, she followed me to my quarters after the session. When we got there and I had made sure we were alone, she went off on a rant, asking me why I let you go away, why did I betray her, the fact that nobody believed what she said and that she did the right thing. After she was done, she had gotten on her knees, wrapped her arms around my waist and began to weep. 'I just want my little gaki back, grandmother. I just want him back with us, is that too much to ask for?' was what she said again and again as she cried. It took her a good twenty minutes to stop and by that time, both Jiraiya and Orochimaru found us and took her away. She misses and cares for you, Naruto."

"If that was true, and that's a big if, she should've told me what she was planning, not sit in the Hokage's chair and pretend that she didn't even give a damn about me. She should have trusted me. But since she can't seem to even do that, why should I trust her?" He asked the old Uzumaki.

"What about your teammates, Naruto-kun? They had all admitted that they missed you when they were unplugged and even before that. They were incredibly worried when they couldn't find you. They were beginning to think that the Machines had gotten to you first. Don't you trust them?" She asked him.

"When I had been told that I was exiled from the village, I looked to my so-called 'friends' and ask for their help and support. Five of them looked away while the others just looked at me with disappointment written clearly on their face. And one of them, one of my own teammates, was more concern with her 'precious Sasuke' then me. So I ask you, Lady Mito: are they worthy of my trust?"

She was about to speak again when she was stopped by Kurama. **"It's best if you stop, Mito. He's right about all that. They did betray him by not telling him about what was going to actually happen to him. He was threatened by Tsunade that if he even saw a Konoha shinobi, he would be killed. His own godfather struck his name from the Toad Summoning Scroll and his teammates did nothing to stop all this. Do you really think he would trust them that easily?"** The fox asked her.

"Very well, if you will not believe me, I will try to convince you. I am thankful for being able to talk about it with you, Naruto. I will leave now." She stood up from whereshe sat and turned to leave. Then she stopped, like she remembered something. "At least take this. Tsunade had intended to give it to you once you were officially part of the crew. She gave it to me so she would not lose it while she was aboard the _Konoha_." She handed him a little box that was wrapped up like a present.

Naruto took the box, tore off the wrapping, took off the lid and looked inside with a mixture of shock and surprise. Kurama wondered what was in the box, but when he looked inside, he got the same look on his face as well. "I can't believe that she held on to this and was planning to give it back." Naruto said in wonder as he pulled the Shodaime's necklace out of the box.

"Indeed, Tsunade said it belong to you now. I often wondered how she gave you my husband's necklace. She was very attached to it." She wondered aloud.

Kurama laughed at that, making her look down at him with some confusion. **"He won a bet against her and the necklace was the prize."** The fox explained.

Her only reaction was to smile. "That sounds like my granddaughter. I will tell Captain Yagura that you will meet him on the bridge. Until I see you again, good-bye, Naruto," She told him. She left the room, the tapping of her cane fading softly away.

Kurama saw that Naruto had gone back to looking at the Shodaime's necklace. **"Hey! Are you going to put it on, or are you just going to keep looking at?"** He asked loudly, getting his Jinchūriki's attention.

He stopped looking at the necklace and put it on. "Sorry about that. We should probably head up to the bridge, huh?" He suggested. Even though he had been in New Zion for only a short time, he wanted to leave.

The fox nodded in agreement. **"I suggest that we go find Gaara. He'll be able to lead us to the bridge."**

"Sounds like a plan." Naruto said. They left the cafeteria, the Bijū riding on his shoulders.

(Location: _Outcast_ Bridge)

Yagura watched as both Zehn and Yugito sat in the pilots seats, setting up the controls in order to fly the _Outcast_ and keep an eye out for Sentinels while they were outside of New Zion. "Zehn, do we have clearance to leave?" Yagura asked.

"Sending request now, Captain, give me a few minutes to get a reply." He answered.

Yagura nodded. He turned to see Naruto coming onto the bridge (Kurama had gone off to talk to the other Bijū). "Ah, Naruto, how did your talk with Lady Mito go?" He asked the blonde.

"It went well, Captain. So, what will we do exactly once we are out there?" He asked, wearing the necklace under his shirt so it wouldn't be noticeable.

It was Yugito who answered. "We usually do a mission that the council elders give us or we try to locate potential redpills. But now that we have you on board, we also have to train you so you can help on the missions we are given." She told him.

"Yugito is correct. How much did the crew of the _Konoha_ try to train you in?" Yagura asked him.

He double-checked what had happened to him onboard the _Konoha_. "They put me into a simulation of the bell test with my former team and then something called the jump program." He finally answered.

Zehn interrupted. "Captain, I have clearance to exit through Gate Five." He said.

"Very well, start the engine up, Zehn." He told the Operator before turning back to face Naruto. "And how did you do on those two tests?"

"I beat the bell test in five minutes but fooled them for six hours and I failed the jump program on purpose by falling off the building without even trying to jump." He answered with a full blown grin on his face.

Yugito looked back at Yagura. "We are going to have our hands full, aren't we?" She asked him.

"It seems like it's going to be like that, yes." The ship suddenly began to go downwards, making everyone suddenly brace against something. "Zehn, if we are going to have a nosedive, then make sure we have it outside of New Zion!" The captain barked at him.

"No worries, Captain. It's under control. But please remind me to strangle Shukaku when I have the chance." He said as he made sure the ship flew out of New Zion without crashing into anything.

(Location: the Pit Stop)

Mito came into the Pit Stop, went to a corner booth, sat down, and waited. Within a few minutes, another person in a dark cloak and a cane had sat down with her. "So, what do you think? Is he the One?" He asked in old raspy voice.

Mito nodded. "Yes. He's not the same as the last person, but I believe he is the One."

"That's good to know. If he is the One, then he will find out the truth. When he does, make sure you send to me." He ordered her. "He must know what lies beneath us."

"Yes, sir," She replied. "But I think I'm getting too old for this stuff."

The cloaked man gave a rusty chuckle. "My dear, when you get to be my age, then you can complain of getting too old. You don't hear me complaining, do you?"

Mito smiled. "No, sir, I don't hear you complain. Although, there are days where it almost seems that you are complaining.'

"Cheeky youngster," He said to her. "You should go now. odds are that your granddaughter will want to talk to you."

"You are right. I will be leaving then." She got out of the booth and bowed to him. "Goodbye, sir."

The cloaked man pointed his cane at her in a nonthreatening way. "Remember, Mito, once he finds out the truth, send him straight to me."

She bowed again. "It will be as you wish, Lord Link." She turned and walked out of the Pit Stop.

**End**

**Authors** **note: **Thank you for all the reviews you've sent.

Again I would like to thank Gensuru for his/her reviews, however while his/her comments help me figure out what I going wrong in the story. I would like you to write a story of your own, that way I may be able to review it and see if I like it.

I will explain the codenames of the Jinchūriki, so bear with me:

**Gaara **= Dune. Reason: He lives in a desert, so he would live around sand dunes.

**Yugito **= Persian. Reason: it's a type of cat and in case you didn't know already, Matatabi is a cat.

**Yagura **= Scarface. Reason: He does have that scar on his face, plus sounds a lot better than some of the other names I came up with for him (ex. Water flower).

**Rōshi **= Molten. Reason: Another word for lava and he does use lava jutsus.

**Han **= Gauge. Reason: You would use a gauge to measure steam pressure and he use steam jutsus.

**Utakata = **Watcher. Reason: He blows bubbles so he also watches them, plus it sound cool.

**Fū **= Emerald. Reason: It was better than Mint or Moss and we are talking about her hair here.

**Bee **= Rapper. Reason: do you really need to ask?

Naruto does not have a codename yet, but that will be explained in the next chapter. I apologize if Bee's rapping isn't up to snuff, this is my first story and I don't listen to a lot of rap.

You also have probably read what I did at the end. I going to say this right now, Link is going to be the only alive person from the movies in this story. You might see a video or hologram from other human characters, but Link will be the only one alive. It will be explained later on.

Some of the characters from the Machines and the Matrix will appear (Ex. the Merovingian, the Oracle) in this story because, quite frankly, they have to. Also, Smith will not be directly in this story, but you will hear about him (it becomes important later on).

Also about what's in this chapter: If you've notice that I've saying both names of the villages, here is what I am doing:

Ex: The _Suna_ = talking about the ship in the real world.

Sunagakure = talking about the village in the Matrix.

If you keep those two clear in your head when you read this story, you should be fine.

Last thing, right now my goal for writing a chapter is about once a month, I should put in more once I get better at all this or if I'm on break. So if it takes more than a month to get a chapter through, either I'm late or something came up.

I will see what I can do about the next chapter, I will finish this story, so don't worry!

I'll see you all next chapter!


	5. Programs and Squids

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Matrix

Woken from exile

Chapter 4: Programs and Squids

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Bijū/machine talking"**

"_**Bijū/machine thinking"**_

Messages/Intercom/Transmissions

(Location: the _Outcast_)

Naruto sat in his designated chair in the broadcast room (it was his because it had been the only one that wasn't claimed), a cable already inserted into his headjack. It had been over a month since they left New Zion and every waking moment he had was spent training him to operate within the Matrix. It was hard going, mostly due to the fact he to recover a lot of his former training as a shinobi. Since there weren't any training programs for such things (as an unplugged person should already have it), it had to be done manually.

"Are you ready?" Zehn asked, sitting at the console. But he wasn't asking Naruto. He was asking Fū, who was in her own chair. It was her turn to help get Naruto back into shape. Both her Bijū and his were next to the operator, keeping an eye on the screens.

"Start her up." She ordered. He nodded in acknowledgment and began hitting the keys on the keyboards, setting up the necessary program. Once he was done, he loaded the program and jacked the two of them into it.

* * *

><p>Naruto suddenly found himself standing in a forest with a path just in front of him. Not waiting for any instructions (as he had already gone through this program several times), he charged forward. He felt kunai wearing down pockets that were hung around his waist. He kept running, even as his hands went into the pockets and pulled out a few kunai. As targets began to show themselves, he threw the kunai at them. He didn't know how they landed. He didn't stop to look at them. He just kept moving. As he ran, the locations of the targets began to appear in more and more in odd and unconventional places, forcing him to adapt.<p>

He began to twist and turn around the trees, driving into rolls and coming out of them in a matter of seconds. All the while, he kept throwing the kunai, using the movements he was going through to throw them. He was trying to hit the targets that were angled in such a way that a projectile thrown normally would never have been able to hit it. And he still kept moving. When he came upon two trees opposite of each other with targets facing upwards, he ran to one of the trunks, placed a foot on it, and leapt into the air. He had begun to grasp what the others had called "freeing your mind." But it was only grasps he had. As he arced through the air over the two targets, he felt his vision was distorted. But he still threw the kunai anyway. They sail through the air, flying past the targets.

"Stop!" yelled out Fū as she appeared next to him. The two kunai clattered harmlessly against the earth. "Why do you always fail at this point?" She asked him.

"Don't ask me." He said as he reached down and picked up the kunai. Every target he had hit beforehand were all but centered (he had hit them, that was what counted at the moment). But every time he got to these two trees, he would always miss. "I'd like to think I'm getting better." The first time he had gotten to those trees and tried to use one of the trunks as a jumping point, he had tripped and fell to the ground.

"You're not getting better enough." She told him in a very blunt manner. "You should've figured it out weeks ago." Everyone else on the ship had been able to do that after the first week aboard, but he had still didn't get it.

He looked at her with a frown on his face. "You'll have to forgive me if I failed your expectations. I was never the brightest of students." He told her. That problem had been with him ever since the Academy. It didn't really fade after he was exiled and since he didn't keep up with practicing his shinobi skills, they had mostly rusted away. "Should I go through it again?" He asked. He had gone through the forest path many times but no matter how many times he did it, he always failed at this particular point.

She sighed in exhaustion (why, he did not know). "No, don't."

"Are you going to have me do the jump program again?"

"No, you're doing worse in that then in here." She replied. Most people were able to do the jump the second or the third time. Naruto was currently on his twenty-third attempt. All previous tries had him land hard on the ground.

"Then what should I do?" He asked her. The forest rapidly grew small while they stayed the small size. Soon, they were standing in the white void that was the Construct.

"He'll be fighting me." Yagura stated as he appeared. "Fū, jack out. I'll take it from here." He looked upward slightly. "Zehn, load the Dojo." He ordered as Fū disappeared. Within seconds, both the captain and the blonde were standing in the middle of a dojo. "Choose your weapon." The captain told him, already wielding a staff with a hook on one end and a flower on the other.

"What weapon?" Naruto asked him. He pointed behind the blonde with his staff. He looked to see what he was pointing at and saw racks of weapons lying on tables. He walked over to them and looked over his options. He saw many different kinds of weapons, swords, axes, maces, daggers, knives, any and all kinds of weapons that he knew of. But he didn't pick any of them. Instead, he went for the two staffs that were about half his height.

"Good choice." The captain of the _Outcast_ commented behind his back. Then he heard the sound of a staff spinning through the air, coming towards him. He grabbed the staffs and jerked out of the way. The staff smashed down onto the table, breaking it and taking the weapons with it.

"Whoa! What? No warning?" He asked, spinning the staffs around in his hands, getting a feel for them. Yagura didn't say anything, he just moved forward to attack and Naruto met him. Wood clashed against wood as they began to fight.

* * *

><p>She bolted down the corridors of the ship, trying to find everyone else. Chōmei flew above her head, following her. "Where are they all?" She asked aloud.<p>

"**I hope you don't actually want me to answer that question."** Her Bijū said to her.

She ignored him and kept on running. When she went past the cafeteria she heard voices inside. That was when she remembered that it was what passed for lunchtime on the _Outcast_. "There you all are!" She exclaimed after opening the door and seeing that they were all in there. "I was beginning to think that I would have to look all over."

"What's the rush, Fū?" Utakata asked her from behind the counter. Saiken was sitting on the counter top.

"Captain Yagura is fighting Naruto." She told them. That had gotten their attention. Each and every one of them had gone up against the captain at least once since coming onto the _Outcast_, and he had beaten them all. Now, it was Naruto's turn. She turned and ran back to the broadcast room. Everyone was right behind her.

* * *

><p>Ever since they had downloaded entire arts of fighting styles into his head, Naruto knew how to effectively wield anything from a throwing knife to a bastard sword (whatever the hell that was. He briefly thought he saw one of them on one of the tables). And yet, despite everything that now felt like second nature to him, he felt like a somewhat competent amateur when fighting against Yagura, who was like an experienced master.<p>

His two staffs kept making contact with the captain's staff but he was starting to feel bruised by the repeated hits he took from said staff. He kept trying to hit Yagura, trying to find openings in his defense, only to get hit himself instead. He was able to wield the two staffs in tandem with one another, but that didn't give him any advantage in the fight.

"Focus!" barked out Yagura, swinging his staff past the blonde's defense and giving him a solid hit in the sides. "Your attention is wondering."

He bit back a hiss from the pain he got from the hit to the side. Annoyed at being chastise like that, he tried to sweep the captain's legs out from under him. All he got in response was the hooked end of the staff catching his leg. Not wanting to have his balance be offset like that again, he spun around, getting out of the hook of the staff, and swung his weapons upwards.

Yagura's staff caught them, stopping them from reaching his chest. Since they were effectively trapped, he delivered a kick to the blonde's chest, sending him tumbling back. Not wasting any time, the captain of the _Outcast_ leapt into the air, higher then what normally possible. Spinning his staff over his head as gravity took ahold of him again he swung it down hard, aiming for his opponent's head.

Naruto rolled out of the way just as the staff was about to hit him, allowing it to hit the floor and break it, leaving a miniature crater there. He went for his two staffs, which had fallen out of Yagura's grasp when he jump and fell to the floor, was able to grab both of them. He came back up, ready to fight again.

His opponent came at him, swinging his staff around his back to deliver an attack from the side. Naruto caught this with his weapons, taking the opportunity to throw a kick at the captain's chest, to respond in kind as it were. But the difference there was Yagura was able to block the kick, taking a hand off of his weapon to do so. Both realized how effectively trapped the blonde was now, both tried to fix it. Naruto tried to get his foot free, only to find that it was trapped firmly by his opponent's iron grip.

Yagura knocked the blonde's weapons aside by spinning his staff in a full circle, sending Naruto's arms to follow with their weapon, his center now open to attack. The captain took full advantage of it, sending him flying back with a punch. The blonde landed a couple of feet back, his back hitting the ground hard. The two of them stared at each other, getting their breaths back. "Do you know what you're doing wrong?" Yagura asked the blonde, breaking the silence.

"I'm trying to beat you in a fight when I should just be bending over and letting you do whatever you want?" He asked in a half-sarcastic voice. He would've gone with full on sarcasm, if he wasn't waiting for the pain to fade away.

The captain didn't find that funny. "Be serious." He ordered. "How am I able to beat you?"

He laid there in silence, not saying a word as sweat poured down his head. "…You've been doing this long before I was unplugged, probably before I was born. You're better at this than I am." He finally answered.

Yagura snorted softly at that. "Do you honestly that just because you think I'm better, faster, stronger has anything to do with where we are?" He asked, gesturing with his staff to the entire dojo. He looked again at the blonde as he wiped his forehead with one of his hands. "Do you think that's sweat on your skin right now?" He asked Naruto.

The blonde looked at the sweat glistening on the skin of his hand with an almost sticky quality to it. He swung his hand in an arc, sending the sweat flying on landing on the mats. "Alright, tell me." He said as he stood up again. "What am I doing wrong?"

"You're trying to hit me." The captain replied, answering his question.

"And…?"

"You need to stop trying to hit me and hit me."

"That makes absolutely no sense." He objected. He _was_ trying to hit his opponent. What could he be doing wrong?

"It's the opposite, it makes perfect sense. You just don't understand. Not yet." He swung his staff into a stance, ready to fight again. Naruto did the same and after a few seconds of staring at one another, they attacked again.

Again, it seemed pointless. No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't get through his opponent's defense. No matter how fast he tried to be or how much strength he tried to exert, his opponent was always just a little bit faster or stronger. _"Come on, Naruto! Get past his guard already!"_ He mentally berated himself.

Somehow, Yagura saw his silent chastising. "You are still thinking, Naruto." He told the blonde, suddenly leaping into the air and flipping over his head. "And you're still trying. Stop both of those things." He ordered.

Naruto's response was to swing around with a spinning kick, trying to get through his defense. He negated the attack with a kick of his own and gave another. The blonde took a step back and swung at the leg with his staffs, sending back down to the ground. Seeing a chance, he suddenly lunged forward, swinging his weapons low. For a brief moment, the two staffs got through his opponent's guard, touching the fabric of his shirt.

It was barely a second, but it still happened. Then Yagura swung his staff and the blonde's weapons were pushed back. "That's it!" The captain told him, his voice encouraging. "Keep doing that."

"_Do what?"_ Naruto thought as he continued to fight against his opponent. _"All I did was barely able to touch him."_ He would've stopped had that been any other situation. But his body was on autopilot. _"I _touch_ him. Before, I've only been_ trying_ to touch him. I need to stop trying!"_ That was when he got hit by Yagura's staff in the stomach, making him step back. "I really wish you would stop doing that." He said in a growl.

"You almost had it, Naruto." Yagura told him. "But you're still trying. Don't _think_ that you're faster or stronger. _Know_ that you're faster or stronger."

He took his stance, his staffs ready to be used. _"Alright, let's go with what he said."_ He thought to himself. He leapt into the air, higher than he previously thought he could do. He swung down hard, wood smacking against wood. As they fought against each other, he believed that he was faster, that he was stronger. And as he believed, he could see his strikes getting faster, leaving afterimages behind. He could them getting stronger, as the sound that came from wood clashing against wood became louder.

His opponent was also now finding it harder to get through his defense, as he believed that he couldn't. Whatever strikes that came from the captain's weapon, he could stop it now. _"I can beat him."_ The blonde thought to himself with convection, believing in it. He stepped forward, pushing his attack. The captain stepped back, but kept his defense up. _"That won't hold for long. I can beat him!"_ Naruto believed, his strikes getting faster and faster. Then, he saw a brief gap in the defense. He took advantage of it, slipping through and knocking the staff out of the way. "Gotcha," He declared in triumph, holding one staff against Yagura's neck and the other over his heart.

"Is that so?" The Jinchūriki of Isobu asked, completely calm. His eyes look down and Naruto did the same. And he saw the hooked end of the captain's staff hanging in the air, just under his groin.

* * *

><p>"Holy shit," Yugito said as she stared at the screen. She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it happen.<p>

"**That has never happened before."** Isobu stated.

"**It was bound to happen. You people seem to keep forgetting that."** Shukaku drawled, sitting on top of Gaara's head.

The Sanbi glared up at the tanuki with his single eye. **"I think I prefer you when you're drunk."**

"**Don't encourage him, please."** Gyūki told him. **"We don't need another rendition of 'where are the bunnies?'"** Everyone (with the exception of Shukaku) agreed with that sentiment. It was bad enough when the tanuki got drunk and went looking for bunnies. It was worse when he got drunk, went looking for bunnies, and started singing too.

"**But still, you all have to admit that we never thought something like this would've happened."** Matatabi said.

"Yeah, we always thought it would be a win or a loss." Fū agreed. Never would they have thought that Captain Yagura would end up in a draw. They had all hoped to beat him and yet, they had all lost. They all came back with Fū to see whether or not Naruto would do the same. But they never would've expected him to end up in a draw.

They all waited quietly as the captain and the newbie were pulled out of the program. "Very impressive, Naruto," Yagura told him as they both got out of their chairs. "You handled yourself well in there."

"I'm no stranger to surprise attacks." He replied, shifting his shoulders around. Even though they were back in the real world, he could still feel some of the bruises from the staff. "Of course, this is probably the first time in six years I haven't bolted." They all stared at him in silence. "If that's pity in your eyes, don't start." He told them when he realized what they were doing. "It's kept me alive that entire time." He left the broadcast room without saying a word.

"**So, what are you going to do now, gaki?"** Kurama asked as he went after the blonde, his pace brisk. Even though they had technically been separated, it was second nature for the fox to stay close to his Jinchūriki.

He didn't know what he actually was going to do. He had just left the room before they could start in with the question he just knew were coming. The rumble coming from his stomach and the fact he remembered what the time on the ship was answered his question. "I'm going to get some food." He answered. "Or at least, what qualifies as food on the ship."

"**Just be glad they don't come in flavors."** The Bijū commented. **"That's just worse."** He sounded like he knew from experience.

"And how would you know that?" The blonde asked him as they made their way through the corridors. Neither of them looked behind, but they both had a feeling that no one was following them.

"**Let's just say it was a week when Mito had been younger, bored, and a bit creative. And I was her test fox."** He shuddered. **"That is one week I would very much like to forget."**

"The stuff already tastes nasty, how could flavors make it worse?" If anything, it sounded like they would make it better (then again, he would take anything that would make taste better. It already felt like he was eating runny eggs again).

"**Just trust me on this one, kit. If Mito or any other person offers you the stuff with a supposed flavor of orange, decline and leave quickly if you value your life."**

He didn't say anything in response as he had just found the door leading into the cafeteria. But when he opened it and saw how many bowls were already on the table, he stopped. "Maybe I should wait for later." He said, mostly to himself.

"**Gaki, get your ass in that room, grab a bowl, fill it up, sit down, and start eating."** The fox told him, sounding impatient. **"Otherwise, I will bite you in the ass and I will hang on."**

"Alright, alright, I'm going." He said, not wanting to be seen with the fox hanging from his ass with teeth clenched tightly. He was fairly certain that there couldn't be a more embarrassing thing to see. "But you know they'll be coming in soon."

"**They're not here yet and you're hungry. Just eat already."** His Jinchūriki complied. He soon sat down with a bowl full of food and began to eat. Now that he had actually spent some time in the real world, his taste buds had gone back to normal and he no longer found the food to be "tasty." Granted, it was still better than some of the stuff he had supposedly eaten (he wasn't sure if food in the Matrix counted), but it still ranked low on the food pole.

But right now, he glad to practically be alone (the Kyūbi didn't really count as company, since they were always together). Ever since he had been exiled and wandered the Elemental Countries, he become a bit of a loner. Because of that, he was never really comfortable around big groups of people. Whenever the crew got together to eat, he would always either get there before they did or waited until they were gone.

So, he ate alone, eating at a pace which would guarantee him to be done within a short span, but not fast enough to be sick (especially with this kind of food). Hearing footsteps getting close and then stopping, he looked up and saw Yugito standing at the door. "…Are the others coming in to finish their food?" He asked her, breaking the silence.

She shook her head. "They're willing to wait. Plus, the food's not that great." She said with a small grin. Her Bijū, who was standing by her feet, just shook her head.

He kept his gaze on her. "What do you mean by 'willing to wait'?" He asked her.

She sat down at the table, in front of her own bowl. "I think all of us, except probably Gaara, were surprised by what you said. The captain thought it would be best to talk to you about it." She explained.

"And why would he send you?" He would've thought either Gaara or Yagura himself would've come (the former was his friend and the latter was the captain of the ship).

"That's mostly because I'm one of the more calmer heads on this ship." She said.

"**You were never one to throw the first punch."** Matatabi agreed with her Jinchūriki. But once that first blow was thrown, she would respond in kind and it would be a vicious hit.

She nodded once in agreement with her Bijū and then focused her attention back on Naruto. "In any case, in the years since you were exiled, did you run away from any surprise attacks? Or just the ones that came with shinobi?" She asked him.

"_She's not going to let up on this, is she?"_ He silently wondered.

"**Do you really want me to answer that?"** Kurama asked him, his voice speaking from within the blonde's mind. Even though they were separated, they shared a mental link that was used for private conversations and very rhetorical questions (such as Naruto had just said).

"_No, I don't."_ He told the fox. "It wasn't so much shinobi as it was Konoha shinobi." He said aloud to Yugito. If they were going to go through with this, he might as well try to make it as harmless as he could for himself.

"So, you never stayed around to see what they wanted?" She asked. It was an obvious question, she realized that much. But it was also a question that she felt needed to be answered. Otherwise, she would probably end up with a lot of short answers that wouldn't help her.

"Why would I?" He asked back, raising an eyebrow in question. "I was told that if I ever came back to the village, I was going to be killed. I had the feeling that if any shinobi from Konoha found me, they would take me back just so they could have an excuse to kill me."

"Captain Tsunade wouldn't have let that happened." While she didn't know the captain of the _Konoha_ personally, she knew enough that she wouldn't had let that happened.

"From what I remember, and it's a very vague memory, she said that directly to my face." His voice was full of sarcasm, showing that he remembered what happened with perfect clarity. "So, you'll have to forgive me if I wasn't feeling inclined to stick around an area when there were Konoha shinobi around."

"Didn't you read the code? It was out there for everyone to see." Everyone who was on a ship had seen it when they jacked into the Matrix. That was why they all had tried to keep an eye out for him.

He looked up from his bowl, confusion written plainly on his face. "What code?" He asked.

She just stared at him in complete disbelief. Her Bijū was right there with her. **"Are you saying that you didn't notice the code when you saw it? **_**Did**_** you even see it?"** Matatabi asked him.

"What code?" He repeated, more annoyed then confused now.

"The article about the Hokage creating a new special ops group," Yugito tried to explain. "There was a code in there for those who knew it. It told us to keep an eye out for you and send you back to Konoha if we did."

"No, I didn't see it." And he was glad he had not.

"How could you not? It was obvious if you knew what to look for." She insisted.

"Well, I didn't. Code cracking 101 was not a class I had passed while I was in the Academy." In fact, it was the class that he always managed to fail in. And now, he was glad that he had failed that class.

"**There was also the coded message for him personally from Tsunade herself."** Kurama remarked, pointing one of his tails at his Jinchūriki. **"It told him that she was sorry for the way things had turned out. She also said that they were coming to find him, so he should just stay in one place. They were coming to find him and they were bringing him home."** He said all of that with completely casual.

Naruto stared at the fox. "There was another code in that article?" He asked.

"**I just said that, didn't I?"** The Bijū asked back with a good amount of sarcasm in his voice.

"**Why didn't you tell him about it? Why didn't you tell him about the first one as well?" **Matatabi demanded of her fellow Bijū.

"**He didn't ask. And the last time I checked, I wasn't sealed inside Konoha. I was sealed inside Naruto Uzumaki."** He retorted. He helped his Jinchūriki out whenever he needed it, even if that included withholding information from him.

But it looked like that wasn't going to be the problem here. "Thank you, Kurama." Naruto told him before he looked at Yugito again. "Besides, if I did manage to figure the codes, it would've given me more incentive to stay away."

Before she could say anything in reply, an alarm klaxon went off, echoing around them. "Shit!" She swore, standing up from the table in haste.

"Everyone, get to your guns!" The captain's voice rang scratchily through the intercom. "Yugito, get your ass to the bridge and bring the newbie with you!"

"What's going on?" Naruto asked in confusion. In the month that he had been aboard the _Outcast_, there had never been anything like this happen. He didn't really know what to do.

"**Just follow us!"** Matatabi told him as she and Kurama went after Yugito, who had bolted out of the cafeteria. Seeing as he had no other choice, he followed. The four of them went down the corridors in the opposite direction of everyone else. He didn't look back, but he could hear their feet banging down against the metal hull of the ship.

They raced to the ladder that connected the levels. Yugito took the lead and started climbing first, Matatabi holding onto her back. Naruto followed, Kurama doing the same thing. As soon as she reached the top, she climbed up out of the ladder and made her way to the free chair. "Where are they?" She asked Yagura, who was sitting in the other chair.

"We don't know." He replied. "We have to wait." He reached over and picked up a radio microphone. "Zehn, is everything ready?" He asked, holding down a button.

"Power's going offline now, sir." The operator's voice answered in a whisper as the lights and computer screens all around them went dead, covering them in semi-darkness. "The EMP is on standby."

"What's an EMP?" Naruto asked them.

"**Keep your voice down! They'll be able to hear you."** Matatabi told him quietly with a hiss. He felt a little embarrassed for being told off by a cat, but what was he going to do about it (epically when said cat could easily make his life, and his mind, a living hell)?

"**It's an electromagnetic pulse, kit."** Kurama told him in a whisper. **"It's the only thing that can truly stop them."**

"And who is them?" He demanded quietly. His imagination was about to thinking of things and he knew enough that right now, that wasn't what he needed.

"Sentinels, machines that're designed and programed for one thing: to search and destroy humans," Yagura told him as he kept looking out the window. "But they're more affectionately known as squids."

"Why?" The blonde asked. But no one said anything as a…_thing_ appeared in their sights.

"**That's why."** Kurama told him within his mind, and he couldn't help but agree with the name. It looked like a black, mechanical squid, with many red eyes gleaming through the dark. It glided through the air like it was swimming. Its tendrils seemed to glow with a reddish hue as they floated through the air.

It swam through the air of the sewers as the _Outcast_ and its crew waited in silence. Suddenly, it stopped and looked in their direction. When it did, Naruto was sure his wasn't the only heart to momentarily stop. All of its red eyes seemed to look straight at him. He felt like he was being looked at thoroughly and couldn't move. One of the tendrils came forward, the claw turning into a small satellite dish. It was obviously searching for something.

But apparently, it didn't find what it had been looking for (or in this case, them), the dish disappeared from its claw and it swam away. They all waited for several seconds before finally releasing the breaths they were holding. But even though they were a little more relaxed now, they still did nothing. They waited for several minutes, which seemed to stretch out for an eternity to Naruto. He had never stayed this still before, or this silent. He didn't like it. It was like he was standing alone in a cave with a small flame making shadows on the walls for him to watch with a paranoid eye. He didn't like it. He hated it. He wanted to move again.

Finally, Yagura reached for the microphone. "Zehn, start her up. Everyone else, stay at the guns for the moment." He ordered.

Naruto relaxed as he felt the ship humming back into life, the lights and computer screens coming back on. He watched in silence as the _Outcast _lifted itself from where it had nested and flew away in the opposite direction of the machine. "…So why was I here?" He asked after watching them fly the ship in silence.

"So you could see what a part of what we're fighting against looks like." Yagura told him. He reached for the microphone. "Everyone, stand down. The squid is gone. Han, get up here and take over for Yugito." The ship suddenly lurched downward but Yugito quickly brought it back up. "We really need to fix that." The captain stated as he put the microphone back.

"**We also need to keep Shukaku away from the engine room."** Matatabi replied. Everyone but Naruto nodded in agreement at what she said.

"In any case, you've seen one part of the enemy, Naruto." The captain told him as he got out of his chair. "Now, I want to show you another." He walked past the blonde. "Follow me." He ordered. Naruto had no choice but to follow.

* * *

><p>"You have to realize, Naruto, that the Matrix is nothing but a system." Yagura told him as they walked down a crowded street, going against the flow of traffic. "And that system is our enemy."<p>

He struggled to maintain the pace, as it was difficult to do so when they were going against the traffic of people. They had jacked into a city that seemed to be the very definition of "non-descriptive." He couldn't tell where they were in the Elemental Countries. There were no signs or markers that gave the location to him. "What exactly is the point of all this?" He asked, dodging a married couple in the process.

"Look around you, what do you see?" Yagura asked him. "You'll see civilians, shinobi, masons, scholars, samurai, librarians, merchants, or any other kind of people."

He looked around, seeing the people the captain had pointed (but he couldn't see the headbands on the shinobi as they kept moving too fast for him to see). The faces were blurred together, making him hard to see them specifically. They were all tinted in some version of green, as was the street and the city. "What about them?" Naruto asked Yagura.

"They're minds that we are trying to free from the Matrix. But until that happens, they are still apart of the system that is the Matrix. That in turn, makes them be against us." He told them, completely serious. "And because that many of them need the system so badly, they will fight us to protect it."

"**Ooh, look at that fine lady."** Kurama commented from inside the blonde's mind. His Jinchūriki unconsciously looked at what the fox was talking about. What he saw was simply a stunning woman in a red kimono. There was no other to describe her. She had all the right proportions, the right features, and that smile. Kami that was a smile would've left men trailing after her like bees to honey. She gave him that smile and kept on walking. He couldn't help, but turn his head to watch her go by.

"Are you listening to me, Naruto? Or were you looking at the woman in the red kimono?" Yagura asked him, getting his attention back. "Why don't you look again?" The captain offered with a gesture of his hand.

Naruto did look back, but the woman was gone. Instead, there was a man dressed in a green kimono, hakama, and a sleeveless jacket that was a couple of shades darker. He had drawn a katana and held it up to the blonde's throat, ready to slash. Naruto yelped and duck away. _"What the hell?"_ He silently demanded.

The katana-wielding man took a step forward, drawing the sword, only to stop when Yagura looked up and said "Stop it!" Everything froze at those words.

The blonde looked up and saw what had happened. "We…we're not in the Matrix?" He asked, having thought that they did. It sure looked like they were in the Matrix (at least, from what he had heard and been told). Inside his head, he could hear the fox laughing. _"You knew, didn't you?"_ He said accusingly.

"**Of course I knew."** Kurama replied. **"How else were you going to look?"**

"No, we're in another program that is designed to teach you one thing." Yagura said as he walked over to the man. "If you aren't one of us, you are one of them." He stated, looking at the man.

"And they are…?" Naruto asked as he too looked at the man. He could see that despite the sunglasses he wore (or maybe because of them) the man's face was completely expressionless, like he had no emotion at all.

"They're sentient programs, also called Agents. They can move in and out of any software that is still hardwired into the system. And that, in turn, means that anyone who is in the Matrix can be a host of one of them." He explained, walking around the frozen Agent. "I won't lie to you, Naruto. With the exception of this ship's crew, everyone who has tried to fight an Agent has been killed. And even with us, it will happen to us if we tried to go one-on-one against them."

"So what are we supposed to do?"

"The only thing we can do. Run and hide." He walked past the blonde and then turned to face him. "This is the other part of the enemy I wished to show you. We're not safe inside the Matrix and we are not safe outside the Matrix. Remember that." He looked up again. "Jack us out."

Naruto felt his eyes become momentarily heavy, making him blink. When he opened them again, he was back in his chair on the _Outcast_. He waited for the plug to come out of his headjack before leaning down and freeing himself from the chair. "You okay over there?" Zehn asked from his seat.

"I'm fine." The blonde replied as his feet touched metal. "I just really feel like I was taken out of my life and put into hell."

"Most feel like that when they're unplugged." Yagura said to him as he got out of his chair as well. "But it was their choice to see the truth."

"Oh, yes. You people are all about choice." He replied with acidic sarcasm. It wasn't he had a choice in all this. It had been chosen for him.

Both the captain and Zehn looked at him with small frowns. "Look, Naruto, I heard about what happened with you." Yagura began to say. "What Tsunade and the others did was completely wrong, but—"

"But?" repeated Naruto, angry at the choice of words. "I was being hunted down by people who told me to stay away unless I wanted to die. When they finally found me, they knocked me out and strapped me to a chair. When I came to, I had no idea of what was going on and surrounded by people who I thought were there to drag me back to a place I had been exiled from so they could finally kill me. Instead, I found myself in a place that seemed look like the beginning of a nightmare, only to be told that everything I thought I knew was a lie and the nightmare was actually the real world." He spat out, his suppressed feelings about everything finally coming out. Ever since he had been unplugged, he had been pushing those feelings down so he wouldn't lose his temper. But now, he lost it.

Although even as he ranted, Yagura stayed calm. When the blonde was done, he looked over at Zehn and gesture softly with his head at the door. The operator got his captain's point and took the opportunity to leave. Both Isobu and Kurama decided to go with him. They both knew that this needed to be a private conversation (and that meant they left too). "I don't agree with how they did it." Yagura said when he and Naruto were finally alone. "But you would've chosen to be unplugged anyway. No Jinchūriki has been able to resist the opportunity to find out the truth." That was an unavoidable truth. They would've seen glimpses of the Matrix until they were finally offered the choice and they would always take it.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" He asked in return.

"Naruto, if the _Konoha_ and its crew hadn't done what they did, if they sought you out peacefully and offered you the choice, you would've taken the red pill."

"No, I wouldn't have." He said firmly. "I would've gladly taken the blue pill."

"Why?" The captain asked. Every member of his crew up 'til now had been glad they had been shown the truth, so to hear someone say otherwise surprised him.

"Just to spite them," He answered both coldly and simply. He would've loved to see the looks on their faces when he made that choice. But they had probably suspected he would've done it, which was why they chose for him.

Yagura wasn't really surprised by his answer, given how he felt about that particular crew. "And if another crew offered you the choice?" He asked.

"If I knew ahead of time what the Matrix and the real world was all about? I would've taken the blue pill anyway." The blonde stated. "I was happy. I was _content_. Then you people come along and decide that it's best for me to shatter everything I took for truth and wake me to a harsh reality. If I had known all that before I was given the choice, I would've gladly stayed in the Matrix." He turned heel and walked out of the broadcast room, leaving the captain alone in there.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

I think that Naruto would have a bit of a hard time figuring out how to bend the rules. It takes a bit of mental working and he tends to learn things through his body, learning by training. So even if he kept going at it again and again, if he doesn't figure it out mentally, he's not going to get it.

Originally, the idea for introducing the Sentinels was to have Naruto wander off the ship and around the surrounding location. He would've then been ambushed by one of the squids. In the ensuring struggle, he would've somehow managed to destroy half of its eyes. The rest of the crew would've arrived and scared the thing off. However, that particular squid would become a regularly recurring character. Maybe I'll put that in later along with a few changes.

As for the Agents, of course they weren't going to appear in three-piece suits with guns. They're supposed to blend in, not stand out.

Did you really expect Naruto would be fine with everything that had happened to him? The only reason he hadn't blown up sooner was the fact he had forced himself to remain calm. If he had lost it on the _Konoha_, I think it would be safe to say that either the ship would need repairs or people would need to be treated.

For those of you who went straight to this chapter, I'd recommend that you reread the previous ones. I changed a couple of things.

Right now, the plan for the future is to do a week's worth of reedits for Bodyguard of Azula and then a new chapter, alternating between Woken from exile and Misplaced. With any luck, the reedits will become easier over time and I'll be able to just alternate.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	6. Jacking in and Breaking in

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Matrix

Woken from exile

Chapter 5: Jacking in and Breaking in

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Bijū/machine talking"**

"_**Bijū/machine thinking"**_

Messages/Intercom/Transmissions

(Location: The _Outcast_)

It has been a few days since Naruto's rant at Yagura, which word of had been passed onto the rest of the crew fairly quickly. Since then, he had mostly kept to himself and mostly everyone (with the exception of Gaara and Kurama) stayed away from him. No one wanted the hotter heads on the ship to lose their tempers and get into something they would probably regret later. For now, it was best to let everyone try to cool down.

As for the blonde himself, he had more or less confined himself to his quarters. The only time he left was so he could get some food. And even then, he kept it short. A few quick scarfs of food and he was out of the cafeteria, swallowing and digesting the food as he went back to his quarters. It was a simple and easy process to stick to. And now, he was lying on his bed, with Kurama sitting on his stomach. **"So, how much longer are you going to stay in here?"** The fox asked his Jinchūriki.

"Hey, you're free to leave any time you want to, fox." Naruto replied. He was staring up at the ceiling for no particular reason other than he wanted to. There wasn't really anything else to do, other than to think.

"**And go where exactly?"** He asked.** "There is only so many times one can talk to the same people, over and over and over again."**

"We did fine and we only had each other for company for the better part of six years." The blonde retorted. He remembered the nights where he had sat down at a campfire and spent hours talking to the fox, whether it was just a conversation or a friendly argument. Those were good times. But they couldn't go back to those times now.

The Kyūbi could see what his Jinchūriki was thinking just by his face. He was remembering what their life had been life before he had been unplugged. **"Hey, kit, can we talk about something?"** The Bijū asked him, deciding to take a step into possibly dangerous territory.

"We just did." Naruto replied with a small smirk on his face, looking at him.

The fox groaned when he heard those words. **"I should never have taught you that trick."** He muttered, mostly to himself. But he was still loud enough for his Jinchūriki to hear him.

"Then you really shouldn't have used it on me several times over the years." The blonde still had that smirk on his face. He was enjoying this. It wasn't often he could get the fox like this, so it was always a good idea to enjoy it when he could.

"**Kit, we need to talk about Sakura."**

The smirk quickly faded away when he heard those words. "What about her?" He asked. He didn't like talking about the crew of the _Konoha_ in general, much less his former team.

"**You do remember how she acted around you, right?"** It had been obvious to anyone who knew what to look for (and that had been everyone on the _Konoha_). But he also knew that his Jinchūriki could be a little dense at times, so he had to be sure.

"Yeah, I remembered it. Quite different from what I was used to." Usually, she tried to punch him in the face (in hindsight, that was only when he did two things: either be her way of Sasuke, or had done something stupid).

"**So you're willing to admit that it's a change for the better."** The fox pressed forward on the subject.

"I'm willing to admit it's a change. But it doesn't matter to me." He stated with a stubborn tone in his voice that the Kyūbi knew all too well. It was the tone that meant he wasn't going to budge on the subject. But the fox was going to be stubborn about it too.

"**It should matter. Come on, kit, she literally **_**threw**_** herself at you back on the **_**Konoha**_**. And we both you decided to disappear into the **_**Outcast**_** when they had been stunned into silence because you didn't want to face her."** Kurama reminded the blonde.

"For good reason, she probably would've tried to punch my head off." He retorted. That was a feeling he didn't want to enjoy, much less experience. He broke eye contact with the Bijū and looked back up at the ceiling.

The fox wasn't going to let him just stop there. He stood up and padded up the blonde's body until they were literally looking each other in the eye. **"That's not true and we both know it."** He told his Jinchūriki. **"Gaki, if she had acted like that six years ago, you would've been over the Hokage Mountain in joy."**

"That was six years ago. And those years gave me some time to think." Naruto said back. "Haruno was never interested in me. I was just too thick to see it. All her attention was on Uchiha, I was just the guy who kept annoying her." Maybe if he hadn't been so annoying, or even helped her get Sasuke, things wouldn't have been so bad between the two of them. But it was too late for that. Six years too late.

"**I know what you're thinking, kit. And we both know you never would've done that. You loved her too much for either of those things to actually happen."** Quite frankly, the fox found it insulting that he would even think of those things.

He scoffed and pushed the Kyūbi off of his face. "That wasn't love. That was a crush. Kami, was that a crush." He had acted like a complete idiot in front of her because of that damn crush and it got him nowhere.

Kurama shook his head in the negative, refusing to believe that sentiment. **"I know what a crush looks like, Naruto. You loved her and you let everyone know how you felt."** He insisted, standing up from where he had landed on the floor.

"I know. I was a loudmouth moron." The blonde looked back up at the ceiling, suddenly interested in it and not the fox on the floor. "But all of all the girls who were in the Academy the entire time I was there, why did I have to be a loudmouth idiot about her?"

The fox looked at him with confusion in his eyes. He could not believe that had just come out of the blonde's mouth. **"…Have you really forgotten what happened?"** He asked his Jinchūriki.

"Forgot what?" He asked back, sounding just as confused as the Bijū. "What exactly did I forget?"

"**Dear Kami, you **_**did**_** forget. I would've thought that day would stay with you for the rest of your life."** The Kyūbi sounded completely stunned. He remembered what had happened quite clearly (even though he didn't really think anything of it then).

"What did I forget? Just tell me already!" He demanded, even more annoyed now. He really hated it when the fox got like this. It would take almost forever to get a straight answer out of him.

"**I'm talking about your first year in the Academy, that one night in December."** The Bijū told the blonde, looking straight up at him.

And almost like a thunderbolt hit him, he remembered that night. A blizzard had hit the village, covering everything in snow. While most people had snuggled up in their homes, glad to be out of it and content to watch it from the windows, the roof of his apartment had caved in (due to bad maintenance. Whether it had be on purpose or not, he had never found out), forcing him out into the snow.

He didn't know how long he was out in there, in the freezing cold. But he had been close to freezing when Sakura had found him. She took him to her home, asked her father (while both parents had been shinobi, they didn't take a mission at the same time. One had always stayed home to watch their daughter) to help him. He was able to warm up from a bath and a hot supper. When it was time to sleep, Sakura had all but dragged him to her room. There, they shared the bed until the morning, when he left early and quietly.

Throughout that entire time, she had been nice, kind, and gentle with him. When he had been nervous or scared, she comforted him. He remembered her warmth as they slept in the bed, holding her hand like he was afraid that if he let go, she would disappear. And she didn't try to make him let go. Instead, she held it in return. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was being treated like an actual human being, instead of a thing. He felt like he could trust her and possibly, her friend.

"Oh." He finally replied. It was the only thing he could think of to say. The next time he saw her was the last year he spent in the Academy and everything went from there.

Before Kurama could say anything in response, they both felt the ship settle. **"Hm, we've stopped."** The fox commented.

Naruto was about to reply with a sarcastic remark when the intercom came to life. "Everyone, come to the broadcast room. We just got a transmission from New Zion." Yagura's voice ordered. There was a pause and the captain spoke again. "That means you too, Naruto. Get moving."

The blonde said nothing. He simply got off the bed and went for the door with Kurama right behind him. Opening it and walking through it, the two of them walked into the corridor and headed for the broadcast room as ordered. No one was with them as they walked, which meant that they were already in the room or were closer than he was. When he got to the door, he found Yagura was waiting there. He stopped and they just stood there, looking at one another. "Look, about my little rant." The blonde said, breaking the silence. "I'm sorry. Everything just kinda…got to me. And despite what I said about the pills, there's nothing I can do about it. I'm here. I'm awake. I might as well make the best of it."

Yagura stood there in silence for a moment. "Thank you. That's all I wanted to know." He went into the broadcast room and Naruto followed.

"What's going on? Fool, ya fool." Bee asked the captain. Gyūki rolled his eyes in exasperation at the words his Jinchūriki spoke.

The captain ignored him as he walked to the space before them all. "We had just received a transmission from Katana." He told them as Naruto stood beside Han. The blonde remembered Katana as a tall, regal-looking man who looked like he knew how to handle a sword, hence his name.

"We got a mission?" Fū asked, sounding a little hopeful, if her tone of voice was anything to go by.

He nodded. "New Zion received an anonymous transmission from inside the Matrix. It revealed that a bank in the Land of Water that has information that could beneficial."

"What's inside the bank?" Han asked him.

"According to the transmission, one of the safe deposit boxes will contain a code that will allow us and the other ships to see what tunnels and sewer passages the Sentinels use. If we get that information and successfully pass it on, the chances of being ambushed by squid will decrease by a good percentage."

Everyone who knew what that meant grew hopeful at those words. If that was possible, there would be fewer potential deaths caused by the squiddies. "Do we know the number of the safe deposit box?" Yugito asked her captain.

He nodded. "The transmission gave New Zion that as well. The number of the box is 13914."

"Do we know who sent the transmission?" Rōshi asked. Transmissions from the Matrix were rare by themselves and an anonymous one had been virtually nonexistent until now.

"No, and that's why we need to be careful on this mission. We have no idea if this is all a trap or not. The _Kiri_ will be on standby alert but other than that, we'll be on our own." He told them all, his voice sounding serious. "Let's saddle up." He ordered.

At that command, everyone scrambled to their designated chairs, readying everything. Zehn helped out Naruto with his chair. Once he was done, the blonde sat down in it, ready to go. Kurama and the other Bijū just stood off to the side, watching in silence as all the work was done. "Now that everyone is secure, will you all please hold onto your asses?" Their operator told them, sitting back into his chair in front of the screens. With a few keystrokes, he jacked them in.

* * *

><p>The minute they found themselves in the Construct, Yagura looked up. "Load the Armory." He ordered. Within seconds, they were surrounded by tables and racks that were full of weaponry. No one said a word. They just went straight for the weapons of their choice.<p>

Naruto hung back and watched as the others loaded up. Gaara had on a crimson coat with long sleeves and dark trousers underneath it. A grey holster vest was worn over his torso with a single strap over his left shoulder. It was onto this holster that the familiar gourd he use to carry went, held by straps.

Yugito and Bee stood side by side over a particular table. She was wearing a black bodysuit with what looked like something between a vest and a blouse that was purple in color over her chest. Around her waist was a belt that had all the necessary shinobi tools. She picked up a karambit from the table and put it in a small holster that was on her belt, well within reach of her hand.

Bee was wearing black pants and a black cut-off vest. Attached to the back of the vest was a sheath that held seven swords. But that wasn't all he grabbed. He pulled out two short-swords and placed them in the sheath on his back (the two sharply contrasted with the other seven). He also grabbed a claymore and considered it for a moment. Then he shook his head and put it back down.

Yagura already had his staff ready to use, having it holstered on his back. The captain was wearing black as well. But while Naruto was sure he was wearing black clothing, it was mostly hidden and camouflaged by the giant trench coat he wore. The hat on his head was a fedora and it was angled so no one could see his eyes from a distance. The only thing on him that wasn't black was the green scarf around his neck.

Utakata was dressed in a black kimono. It was worn tight across his body so nothing would drag as he walked. There was also some metal plating on his shoulders and arms, but not enough to restrain his movement. There was a jug made from bamboo hanging from a belt around his waist and he fiddled with a pipe between his fingers.

Rōshi and Han stood at opposite ends of a rack. The Jinchūriki of the Yonbi wore a black shirt that showed, when he moved, that he was wearing mesh armor underneath it. Underneath the armor and the shirt was a black suit. Across the bridge of his nose and his cheeks was a piece of armor. He took two tomahawks from the rack and hung them in his belt.

Han was dressed in black armor that covered up the bottom half of his face. Over the armor was a black shirt with the sleeves ripped off. On his back was a furnace and on his head was a black straw hat. Underneath the hat was a white cloth, the same as he wore in the real world. What he pulled from the rack was a pair of brass knuckles, slipping them onto his fingers.

Fū was wearing a black catsuit, zipped all the way up to her neck. She wore a duster over it, dull black covering glossy black. The coat hung loose, which would've made it flutter in the wind (if there was any wind in the Construct). She picked up a rope dart from the table she stood before, checked the length of the rope, and made a small loop in which she put her left hand through. She then wrapped the rope around her had until she held the end of it tightly. She lowered her arm so the rope dart was hidden by the sleeve of her coat.

"Naruto, don't just stand there." Yagura told him, getting his attention. "Pick out a weapon." All the attention was on him now, making him feel a little embarrassed.

"Right, sorry." He replied, quickly walking over to a rack. His eyes scanned what kind of weapons lay on the rack before finally settling on the two staffs he had fought with against Yagura. _"How these get here?"_ He briefly wondered to himself. But he wasn't going to let that stop him. He took the staffs off of the rack and then looked down at himself. What he was wearing was simpler compared to the others, a simple pair of black pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Strapped to his leg (as well as the legs of the others who showed it) was a kunai holster, but other than that, there was nothing to hold the staffs. "Hey, Zehn," He called out, looking up at the void. "Can I get a belt with two holster straps in the back for these things?" He held up the staffs to emphasize his point. "Oh, and a traveler's cloak," He added as an afterthought.

"Why do you want the cloak?" Zehn's voice asked back.

"Just give it to him, Zehn." Yagura ordered him.

"Alright, alright, give me a second." The operator of the _Outcast_ replied. The Construct went silent for a moment. Then the belt and cloak Naruto had requested appeared on the table next to him.

He reached over and took hold of the belt, noting that it was as black as his clothes and that the holster straps were positioned horizontally. He wrapped it around his waist and once he knew it was secure, he slid the two staffs into the straps, stopping when he felt they were secure. He grabbed the cloak (briefly noticing that it was white in color) and threw it around his shoulders. Once it settled, he tied it off at his neck, holding it in place. "How do I look?" He asked the others.

"**Like you're a modal,"** Kurama said inside of him. **"Can you hurry it up? I'm getting bored here."**

Despite not having the fox in his head for over month, the blonde wasn't surprised to hear his voice inside his head. "You're always bored, fox." He replied aloud, exasperation filling his voice.

"I see that your Bijū has checked in." Rōshi commented dryly, looking at the blonde.

"Yeah, he did." He said back.

"Everyone, grab a wireless." Yagura ordered, pointing at a table that they had all pretty much ignored until now. Lying neatly on the table were several wireless radios. They all grabbed one each and fastened them around their necks. As they did all this, things began to appear in the Construct. At first, they appeared random, a roof here and a door there to name a few. But as more and more appeared and connected to other things, the shapes they were building became more and more obvious.

By the time they were all done with setting up their wirelesses, they now stood in a warehouse that looked abandoned. They all stood around a table, which sat a small TV and a video cassette. Yagura reached out and pressed the power button. The screen flickered on and Zehn's face appeared on it. "We're in." The captain told the operator.

"The bank is a few block south from here." Zehn replied, his face turning away from the screen. "I'm currently checking to see if there are any blueprints to the place. I'll contact you when I find something." The screen went dead at those words.

The captain turned to face the others. "Codenames from here on out," He told them. "Emerald, you and Watcher head for the rooftops, take the FNG with you. Dune, you, Rapper, and Molten check the area. Persian, Gauge, and I will check out the bank itself."

Everyone nodded their acknowledgment of the orders given, with the exception of Naruto. "What am I supposed to?" He asked the captain.

"Naruto, you're the FNG, the Fucking New Guy." Dune told him, his quiet voice filling the warehouse.

He wasn't exactly sure, but he had the feeling that wasn't a good codename. "Please tell me that won't be a permanent one." He said back. That was when he noticed that everyone else was wearing sunglasses. No two pair was exactly the same, but he was the only one who didn't have a pair.

Persian shook her head, amused by his words. "Don't worry. It'll only be your codename for this mission. Once we're done, you'll be able to choose your own codename." She assured him.

"Provided he doesn't die," Watcher commented, earning a few glares from the others. "What?" He asked them.

"Way to inspire confidence there." Emerald told him.

"I'm just saying what we're all thinking." He retorted.

"Knock it off, you two." Scarface told them. "We've got a mission to do, let's get to it." They all nodded their acknowledgement of his order and scattered. Three went for the door nearby, three went for the window on the other side of the warehouse, and three started walking up the wall to the ceiling.

(Location: Emerald's team)

As Naruto followed Emerald and Watcher, he took in his surroundings. It was definitely the Land of Water. He had been there enough times to recognize it. But there was something different about it, about everything actually. Where ever he looked, everything had a tint of green to it. He had seen that before, when he was still plugged into the Matrix, but he always brushed it aside. As he looked around, he began to see familiar spots. "Are we in the capital?" He asked the other two.

Watcher stopped and looked around for a brief moment. "Yeah, we are." He finally answered. He had been there to the capital of the Land of Water before, when he had still been plugged in and a shinobi of Kirigakure. From atop the roofs, he could see the port, a defining scene of the capital. It seemed to span the entire coastline, as far as anyone could see. Ships came in and out of there regularly, bringing in something or taking something out.

"We don't have time for standing around here." Emerald reminded him. They had to check out the bank from the roofs, which meant that they had to be there first so they could pass what they've seen to the others.

"Right, let's keep moving." He started running again and the other two followed.

"_So it's exactly the same."_ Naruto thought to himself as they ran across the rooftops. Every familiar thing he remembered was there, the same as he remembered it. _"I wonder…"_ He mused silently to himself. But his musing was broken when he almost ran into a chimney, moving around it at the last moment.

"**Will you please pay attention?"** Kurama demanded of his Jinchūriki. **"I don't remember you ever being this scatterbrained."** Well, aside from his early years, but the fox just put that down as childhood.

"_What are you, my mother?"_ The blonde retorted. But still, he kept moving. The three of them ran through the rooftops. They paid no attention to what was around them in those moments, they just focused on running towards their destination. When they were finally in sight of their objective, they skidded to a stop.

"Is that it?" Emerald said, looking down at the bank.

"Yeah, that's the place." Naruto told her. He had been there a few times himself when he had been in the Land of Water capital. But he didn't remember it looking like that.

"Check the other sides." Watcher told them. They scattered and run towards different angles of the bank, trying to see if it was just the one side that look foreboding. But as it turned out, they had no such luck.

"This isn't good." The blonde declared as he looked at the other side of the bank. It looked just as bad as the side he had first seem. He reached up and touched the wireless. "Hey, Fū," He began to say.

"Use my codename, you moron!" She hissed back, making him wince at her words. "Do you want us to be found out!?"

"Sorry, I forgot!" He instantly apologized. He calmed down and tried again. "Emerald, how does it look where you are?"

"Not good." She admitted as her voice went from angered to level in a blink of the eye. "What about you, Watcher? Any better on your end?"

"No, it's not." Watcher answered. "Scarface, are you in position yet?" They heard him ask over the wireless.

(Location: Scarface's team)

"No, we're not." The captain replied, letting them all hear his answer. "What's going on?" He and the other two members of his team were still on route to the bank (surprisingly, there had been some heavy traffic on the streets, so they had to make a detour through an alleyway). When Watcher contacted him, they stopped in an alley and kept their backs to the wall.

"Did that transmission New Zion got say anything about the bank itself?" If one hadn't been paying attention to how he said it, they might've assumed it was an innocent question.

"Why do you ask that?" Scarface asked him, hearing how tense he sounded.

"The place looks like a freaking _fortress_! That's why!" Fū all but shouted through the wireless, making sure everyone heard her. Some of them even winced at the sound of her voice (not from how piercing it was, but how sudden).

"There's no need to yell like that, Emerald. We're supposed to be keeping a low profile in here, remember?" Dune told her, somewhat reprimanding her. "But she's right, Scarface." He said to his captain. "Molten, Rapper, and I checked out the area around the bank. The place is locked up tighter than a secret technique belonging to a shinobi clan."

Scarface frowned at the news. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. He quickly changed the frequency. "Operator?" said Zehn, his voice coming through the wireless for all to hear.

"Zehn, tell me you've got something on that bank?" He asked his ship's operator. They needed to know something about the building that they were going into.

"Sorry, sir, but whatever information the Matrix had on that bank has been erased. The most I can find is that box 13914 is still in use." Zehn explained. "So that basically means two things."

"This is either a very bad prank, or a trap." He said, finishing what the operator was saying. Everyone heard what he had said, either through the wireless or by ear. They weren't happy with what they heard either.

"Should we abort?" Gauge asked him. Despite the traffic in the streets, they were still close to the warehouse housing the hardline.

He shook his head in the negative. "No, we do not abort. Even if it is a trap, the code is too valuable to just leave there. We have to get it."

"So how we doing this job?" asked Rapper over the wireless.

Before he could continue, Persian cut him off. "There's no time for your rapping." She told him with a warning tone in her voice. "Let's focus on getting inside."

"On that note, there's a glass dome from where I'm standing." Watcher spoke over the wireless. "If someone can make a distraction in the front, I can pry off a pane, sneak in and look for the box."

"I've got a dome on my side too." The FNG said. "I can join him in looking for the box."

"We can swing around to the front door, head in, and start the distraction they need." Molten offered, his voice coming through the wireless.

"Do that." The captain ordered, showing his agreement. "We'll come in behind and help out." It would make the distraction work and look better.

"What do you want me to do?" Emerald asked. They had listed everyone else but her, making her wonder.

"Stay the roof and keep a lookout near the front. You're our early warning if people start to show up." He told her. They were going to need that if they were going to go through with this mission.

"You mean Agents?" She said, silently asking for clarification.

"Just keep an eye out." The captain said to her, saying his order again in a different way.

"**You could've just said yes to her."** Isobu told his Jinchūriki from within his mind.

"_Would that have made it any easier on her?"_ He asked the Sanbi. _"Besides, you know as well as I do that Agents don't need to come into the bank from the streets."_ They could just take control of someone in the bank and appear that way.

"**I hope that you weren't going to say that out loud."** It would be a surefire to kill any morale the teams had.

"_I wasn't planning on it."_ He looked at both Persian and Gauge standing beside him. "Let's get moving." He told the two of them. They nodded their acknowledgement and all three started moving. They came out of the alley, only to enter another one. The path that they walked twisted and turned, supposedly not showing them where they were going. But the captain had spent many days in the Land of Water's capital and its alleys. He knew where he was going.

"Anybody else feel like we're running around like mice in a maze going through these alleys?" Persian asked the other two in the team, looking at the buildings all around them. Sure, they were supposed to look nice, but that was at the front of the building. What faced them were the backs and they didn't look appealing to the eye. They also seemed like they were crowding them in, making the alley tight and small.

"No." Scarface answered her. He knew these alleys like the back of his hand. He could hear the nervousness in her voice, but didn't see why it would be there. There was nothing to be afraid of.

Gauge looked at her from beneath his hat. "We all feel like that, Persian, both the unplugged and the plugged. You just described the Matrix in its entirety." He told her. Both she and Scarface could see the reasoning behind the description. For all intents and purposes, the Matrix was indeed a giant maze and everyone still plugged into it were like rats that scurried around inside its walls, unsure of where to go.

"There's a difference between us and those who are still plugged into the Matrix." The captain of the _Outcast_ told them. "We're not rats anymore. We know how to get out. And we can take others out as well, if they want to be free." That was what made keep coming back into the fake reality that was the Matrix.

When they finally came out of the alleyways and saw the bank, they could see what the others were talking about. The bank did not so much look like a bank as it looked like a fortress, just like Emerald said. There was a wall that seemed to go around the entire building, high enough to make easy climbing difficult, but not high enough so one couldn't see the bank itself. At each entrance were guards, checking everyone who wanted to come into the bank. And while they weren't shinobi, they had katanas at their sides and they looked like they knew how to use them, showing them to be either samurai or former samurai. Once a person got past the guards and the entrance, they had to walk up a long, grand flight of stairs that would give any guards inside the bank a good opportunity to kill them at a distance. Beyond that, they didn't know yet.

"I'm in position." Watcher whispered through the wireless.

"Same here," The FNG whispered as well.

"No Agents so far." Emerald told her captain through the wireless. When he looked up, he barely saw her, so she was against the height of the bank. "You're good to go."

"We're waiting for your signal." Molten said. He and his team were standing near the front entrance to the bank. They stayed out of sight of the guards so they wouldn't attract attention to themselves.

"Go." Scarface ordered. Dune, Rapper, and Molten walked up to the front entrance when they heard the command. Once they had approached the two guards at the entrance, they acted. Sand flew out of Dune's gourd and pinned the guards to the walls. Before they could even struggle against the sand, Molten beheaded one and Rapper plunged his short-swords into the other's eyes. The sand let go and the two corpses fell to the ground.

As Dune's team went through the entrance, an alarm began to sound off from within the bank. "This is going to be fun." Persian remarked as they moved forward, her hand moving down to be ready and grab the karambit. Both Scarface and Gauge heard the sarcasm in her voice, but said nothing in return.

They went through the entrance and quickly joined up with the other three. The six of them started to make their way up the stairs, only for the bank doors to burst open. A virtual army of guards poured out from them, running down the stairs and surrounding the would-be intruders. They had all drawn weapons and pointed them at the six. "Put your hands in the air and surrender!" One of the guards in the front ordered them.

All six members of the _Outcast_ shared a look with each other. _"Yeah, right,"_ They all thought in unison, drawing their weapons in response and attacking the guards themselves.

(Location: Naruto)

He stood by the glass dome, waiting for a signal to start his part. "The captain and the others have started their distraction." Emerald spoke through the wireless. The sounds of a fight faintly reached his ears, silently telling him that she was right.

"Should we start?" He asked back.

"Yes, get a move on." Watcher told him through the wireless. He needed no more further orders. He crouched down next to the nearest pane of glass and got to work. While he and Watcher had been waiting for the signal to start, the blonde had contacted Zehn and asked for a program that showed him how to safely remove glass from a window. And now, the information the program had given him was working out.

Once he had safely removed the glass pane, he slipped through the opening and onto the ceiling of the bank. His chakra was the glue that kept his feet stuck to the ceiling. It gave him a slightly disorienting view of the room below him. "It's looks like I'm in some kind of work area." He whispered into the wireless. Below him, he could see people scurry around, going somewhere or bringing something to someone. Others were sitting at desk, writing or reading the papers in their hands. He couldn't their frowns of concentration, but he knew that they were there. All-in-all, it was a busy little hive.

"It looks like I'm where they count the money." Watcher replied through the wireless. "If I was a thief, I would say that I had just hit the jackpot." He sounded amused by what he said, like how the chance of a thief being able to see such a thing would've been funny. "In any case, keep moving, FNG," He told Naruto, the amusement in his voice disappearing, become completely professional. "We need to get to the vault. That's where the safe deposit boxes will be."

"Understood, I'm moving now." The blonde replied. He began to make his way across the ceiling, being careful to not be seen by any of the workers below him. He soon spotted a door that people kept coming in and out of. He made his way over, quickly but quietly. When he was close, almost directly above it, he waited for a lull in the flow in traffic. He didn't have to wait long. When said lull came and everyone seemed to be busy at their desk, he landed quietly on the ground and went through the door.

He then found himself in a hallway. The floor was lined with a carpet that he could tell was plush just by looking at it. Its blue coloring complemented the green coloring of the walls (an actual green color, not the tint the Matrix showed him). The two colors made him think that they were trying to represent the sea. But it also showed him how many doors there were in that hall alone. _"Crap. Too many doors and not enough time,"_ He thought to himself, looking at them all. _"Hey, furball, don't supposed you could help me out here?"_

"**Do I look like I'm a dog to you?"** Kurama asked him in return, sounding very insulted by what he had heard. **"Should I start sniffing out the vault?"** The fox's voice was full of sarcasm as he spoke.

"_A simple 'no' would've sufficed. And I never said you were a dog."_ The blonde retorted. He placed a hand on the wireless around his neck and contacted Watcher. "Watcher, can we use chakra during this mission?" He asked quietly.

"Only if you have to," Watcher replied through the wireless. "Why? Do you?"

"Let me put it this way: I've got a lot of doors and we're on a time limit. I could speed it up using clones." The blonde offered. It would certainly make things go faster.

"Do it. But keep to a minimum. We're trying to keep a low profile here." There was the faint sound of people moving coming through the wireless. "FNG, do what you have to do to get to that vault. I'm about to have company, so I might be detained."

He was going to respond until one of the doors opened and a few guards came through. They saw him, with his raised hood covering his head and cloak covering the rest of his body (with the exception of his raised arm), and realized that he wasn't someone who belonged back there. They drew their weapons and began to approach him. "Hands where we can see them!" barked out one of the guards.

"I'll get back to you." Naruto said through the wireless. "I have company." He took his hand off the wireless and dropped his arm back beneath the cover of his cloak. He stood there, in the hall, with his head slightly bowed. To the guards, he looked like a cloaked statue that someone had misplaced.

"I said put your hands where we can see them!" The same guard repeated his order. He took a step forward and pointed his katana at the cloaked man's face.

Everything and everyone in the hall was silent as they looked on. Finally, Naruto looked at the guard and then at the katana pointed at his face. "But of course." He replied. What happened next was almost too fast for anyone to see, and yet they were able to see it perfectly. He drew the two staffs he carried, smacked the katana away from his face, struck the wrist holding the katana, making the guard let go, and finally hitting the guard in the head, making him drop, in about five seconds.

The other guards stared at their fallen comrade in shocked surprise. That reaction cost them dearly. Before they could even return their attention to the cloaked man, he was already on them. They tried to fight back, but they were quickly subdued. He didn't kill them, he didn't have the time. Quickly sheathing his weapons, he folded his hands into a handseal. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** He whispered to himself.

Three clones were created. Without a word said, they split up and began checking the doors. The original Naruto was the one who checked the door where the guards came from. What he saw was a break room of sorts. There were a few tables scattered around the small room, but that was it. There was no little kitchen off to the side and there was no coffee machine. It told him that this was a room where they went to rest their feet for a few minutes.

He quickly went for another door, putting his hand on one of his staffs and quietly drawing it. But the other doors just led to either empty rooms or rooms that had some people in it. Thankfully, he had opened the doors quietly and they were too busy to take notice of the door opening and then closing. They kept their eyes focused on their work.

"Watcher, I'm getting nowhere here. How are you doing?" The cloaked blonde asked through the wireless, using his free hand to do so. His clones were still going through the other doors, only to pull their heads back and shake them in the negative.

"I just have a lot of corridors and small rooms." Watcher replied. He sounded a little annoyed by what he was seeing, if his voice was anything to go by. "This might just take forever with the way the bank is now."

"We don't have forever." Emerald said through the wireless, joining the conversation. "The others are still fighting, so you two should move your asses!"

"Last time I checked, you were neither the captain nor my mother. You just keep doing your job, I'll do mine, okay?" He retorted.

Naruto stood there, half listening to where the conversation was going while also keeping an on what his clones were doing. "Are you two married?" He asked them. "You sound like you're married." He had met a few couples who acted like that, so he knew what he was talking about. But he got no response from the wireless. "That would be a yes, wouldn't it?" Still, there was no reply. _"Fox?"_

"**Are you about to ask me to look into their relationship by asking Chōmei and Saiken as well as the other Bijū?"** Kurama asked, sounding like he was offended by what the blonde was implying. **"That is an invasion of privacy. Do you really think I would stoop so low?"**

"_Has it ever stopped you with me?"_ Naruto asked in return. He had done some things in those six years he would like to forget, but the furball would never them rest (he didn't have anything to do most of the time).

"…**I'll be in touch."** The Kyūbi replied after a moment of silence.

"_I'll be waiting."_ The blonde returned his attention back to the hall. His clones had checked all the doors except the one at the end. He dispelled them and went over to the door admit the smoke left behind by the clones. Opening the door quietly and carefully, he looked to see what was beyond it. What he saw was another hallway. But this one looked like it had corridors branching off instead of doors, if the junction up ahead was anything to go by.

Seeing that he had no other choice to go with, he stepped through the door and closed it behind him. Quickly and quietly walking to the junction, he stopped and looked at the three corridors in front of him. He created two clones and sent them down the side corridors while he went up the front corridor. "Watcher, I'm in some corridors. I don't where it'll take me, but I'm going to move straight ahead as far as I can. I'll let you know if I have to make a turn." He spoke into the wireless.

"Understood," Watcher replied. "Are you still using clones?"

"Yes, I am."

"I will contact you if I run into any of them." The line went dead, signaling that the other end had stopped.

"Good to know." The blonde muttered to himself, continuing down the corridor. _"Why do I have the feeling that I'm a mouse in a maze right now?"_ He asked himself silently. It certainly felt like that to him and he didn't know why.

(Location: Outside the bank)

Scarface and his group were willing to admit something about the guards: they certainly weren't ones to stop fighting. No matter how many they killed, there was more to fill the gaps. While some of them weren't annoyed by this fact (it kept the distraction going), some were. "Just how many of these guys are there in that bank?" Persian demanded as she sliced a samurai's stomach open, making him and his innards fall to the ground with a squishy sound. Her weapon had done that to a lot of the guards that had tried to attack her.

No one else answered her. They just focused on their opponents. Both Rapper and Molten wielded their twin weapons in perfect synchronization. Neither of them dropped the weapon in their non-dominant hand and both the tomahawks and the short-swords never hit the other. While one hand was defending, the other was attacking. Many of the samurai that tried to fight them were usually killed by that tactic.

Dune, on the other hand, just stood there with his arms folded across his chest. The sand in his gourd did all the work. The samurai trying to attack him would have their weapons get stuck in the sand and while they would try to get them free, the sand would envelop them and crush them completely, leaving a broken mess of a dead body to fall to the ground.

Gauge's brass knuckles added effect to his punches, sending the guards he hit down harder and faster. He wasn't sure if he had killed them or not. He wasn't going to stop and check if he did or not. He just turned to the next guard who tried to attack him and pummel him into the ground. It was a process that was short and brutal, for them.

Scarface kept spinning his staff around as he blocked the strikes directed at him and retaliating. The hooked end of his staff was sharpened to the point where if he struck in a specific spot on the body, he could hamstring his opponent or cause them to bleed out rapidly. If he aimed for the head, they would be dead in a matter of seconds. And he used these advantages to their fullest extent. The guards who were trying to fight him were a little hesitant to actually fight him when they saw what he did to the others. That is, until he turned his attention on them. After that, they tried to fight back, but were killed by him before they even had a chance.

But even as the six of them carved out a bloody circle around them (they weren't going anywhere, so it couldn't be called a bloody path. Not yet, at least), guards kept pouring out of the bank in front of them. It almost seemed like they had an inexhaustible amount, like Persian had asked (in her own way). But Emerald disagreed with her. "It's not just the bank, Persian." The Jinchūriki of the Nanabi said through the wireless. "You've also got them coming through the outside."

"Less talking, more fighting and killing, please," Molten said as he beheaded a guard with one of his tomahawks. "We don't have time to stand around and talk about what we're doing here!"

Neither Persian nor Emerald objected to what he said. He was right. Persian refocused on continuing the distraction while Emerald kept a lookout from the roof. The guards kept coming and they kept dying (or getting knocked out, but that was in the minority). They weren't sure how long it went on for. Most sense of time disappeared for them (they were currently measuring by how many guards were attacking them and how many were dead at their feet).

"Um…guys? We may have a problem here." Emerald said through the wireless.

"What is it?" Scarface asked back as he ducked under a swing of a katana and swung the hooked end of his staff at the offending person. The only sign that he didn't like what the blonde had said was the slight twinge of frustration in his voice.

"All the guards who were coming to you from the outside have stopped. Why would they do such a thing? Unless…" She trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

But they knew what she was talking about and they began to feel nervous as well. Their fears came to pass when one of the guards began to spasm uncontrollably. He dropped the katana in his hand as the spasm continued and his face started to elongate itself. But when it was all done, it was not the guard standing before them. It was an Agent. "Mr. Yagura." The agent greeted the captain of the _Outcast_ with cold politeness.

(Location: Naruto)

No matter how far he went down the corridors or what information his clones passed back to him, he still felt like he was lost in the corridors. The feeling of being a mouse in a maze hung over his head as he kept walking. _"I swear I've went past this junction three times already!"_ He thought to himself as he walked through said junction. It looked exactly the same as the others.

"How are you doing, FNG?" Watcher asked over the wireless. The two had been talking back and forth, letting the other know if they were making a turn or found something of interest (which was a minimum).

"Feeling like I'm stuck in a maze with only myself to blame for getting there." The blonde replied grumpily, touching the wireless around his neck.

"I feel the same way. It's like we're getting nowhere in here. Zehn, are you sure there isn't anything you can find on this bank?" He asked the operator back on the _Outcast_.

"Of course I'm sure, Watcher." Zehn replied. "I've been looking through the known databases and there is nothing about the…" He trailed in silence, worrying the two. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" He suddenly demanded, surprising the two.

"Zehn, what's the matter?" Naruto asked him, surprised by the outburst.

"I don't know how, but information regarding the bank is back." He replied in a tight voice. The blonde could almost see the operator frowning at the screens in front of him.

"Wait, what?" Watcher asked, surprised by the news. He wasn't alone there. Both he and Naruto distinctly remember the man saying that there was no information on the bank. Had their operator not looked hard enough or something?

"You heard me, Watcher. I've got information about the bank coming onto my screens as I speak." He went silent for a few tense moments before speaking again. "On the upside, I've got a blueprint layout of the bank. Watcher, you're two floors above the vault area. FNG, you're only a floor above the area. The two of you should meet up just before you get down to the vault area."

"Is that information reliable?" Naruto asked him. He might not have been the prefect shinobi, and he was glad to let those skills fade away in those six years, but even he remembered that not all information could be reliable. He and Watcher could be walking into a trap if they went with the information Zehn had just given them.

"You don't really have anything else to go on, do you?" The operator told him. "Walked forward to the next junction and then take a left. You should find a door at the end that will take you to a staircase that leads down to the vault."

"_You used the word 'should'."_ The blonde thought to himself as he did as he was told to, walking to the next junction and then turning left. Sure enough, there was a door at the end of the hall and when he opened it, he found the staircase. He stepped through and closed the door behind him. The sound of it closing echoed throughout the staircase.

"FNG?" A voice whispered from the level above him. It was a faint, but sounded familiar.

"Watcher?" He whispered back. The only response he got was the sounds of feet going quickly down the staircase. He turned his gaze to see who it was just as the person appeared and saw that it was indeed Watcher. "I guess you were close after all."

"Let's get moving, odds are we're running out of time." Watcher replied. The two of them quickly went down to the level below. Seeing a door to the side, they opened it and went through. They found themselves in a hallway that just seemed to stretch on forever. "What now, Zehn?" The Rokubi's Jinchūriki asked the operator.

"You're at one end of the level. If you keep walking forward, the vault should be on your right soon enough." Zehn replied.

The two of them did as they were told, moving quickly and quietly down the hallway. As they walked, they took silent notice of their surroundings. There were no paintings or furnishings on the walls and there were no rugs on the floor. It was strictly utilitarian. If they had been any louder, their footsteps would've echoed off the walls. But after walking for only Kami knows how long (they weren't counting their steps nor measuring the time), they saw the vault door. And they saw that it was open.

"Is this a trap?" Naruto asked Watcher quietly. The two of them got closer to the vault door, pressing their backs to it when they were right next to it.

Watcher was the one closer to the edge of the door, so he was the one who took a peek beyond. "There are a couple of guards inside. They look like they putting stuff away." He told Naruto as he pulled his head back away from the edge. He frowned when he realized something. "Or they're checking the contents of the boxes."

"You think they're trying to find the code and move it?" The blonde asked him.

"I don't know." He reached for the bamboo jug with one hand while the other held the pipe in a delicate grip. "But I'm not going to wait and see." He opened the jug and dipped the wide end of the pipe into it. After pulling it out and giving a few good shakes to get out any excess, he put the pipe to his mouth and began to blow out bubbles. They flew out from the pipe and around the corner of the vault door. A few minutes passed until they heard the sounds of bodies falling to ground. "Okay, let's move." Watcher said to the blonde.

The two of them went around the vault door and into the vault itself. The guards that were in the vault lay dead on the ground. If the water dribbling out of their mouths and noses were anything to go by, they had drowned. But Naruto didn't focus on that. Instead, he focused on the boxes in the vault. "Please tell me these things are numbered." He said to the other person in the room. There were safe deposit boxes lining every single piece of the walls and the vault was quite long in structure.

"Yeah, they are." Watcher said from further down in the vault. He had gone straight to work finding the right box. "Now get over here and help me out. I found box 13914." The blonde quickly went to where the brunette was and helped move the box he held onto a table in the vault. Once it was there, they opened it and saw two scrolls were inside.

"I thought Zehn said that we were looking for a code." Naruto said as he looked at the two scrolls. The outside appearance was blank and had no markings that showed a difference between them.

"Remember, not everything in the Matrix is what it seems. That goes for even things we need to retrieve." The Jinchūriki of the Rokubi frowned as he looked at the scrolls. "But this might be a problem." He touched the wireless on him with his hand. "Zehn, are you absolutely sure that the transmission said there was _a_ code in the box?"

"I've looked over that thing twice. I'm pretty sure." The operator replied. "Why?"

"Because I'm looking at two potential codes and I don't know which one is which." He answered.

"Let's just take them both. We don't have time to worry about it now." The blonde told him, reaching for the one on the right. Watcher couldn't disagree with what he said and reached for the one on the left. They pulled the scrolls out and pocketed them in a pouch on their belts.

"Hello there, Naruto. It's nice to see you again." A familiar voice to the blonde spoke out from behind them, making them spin around into defensive stances.

But when he saw you it was, Naruto's eyes went wide in shock and surprise. "Kabuto?" He couldn't help but say. Standing in front of the entrance to the vault, clad in the green uniform that showed he was an Agent, was Kabuto, the former assistant of Orochimaru.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

There are those among you who wanted to know why I'm doing a Naruto/Sakura coupling in this story. Hopefully the history I just made between them will satisfy you until I explore it further.

If you think that Naruto apologized too quickly and too easily to Yagura, I remind you that there wasn't anything else he could've really done. He might've been angry with what happened to him. But he's unplugged and there's nothing he can do about it.

The karambit is a real weapon. Go look it up on YouTube to see how it is used in action.

Admittedly, how they were going to jack out of the Matrix was a puzzle for me before this chapter. I had considered message hawks and radios among other things. But I hadn't thought of TVs until this chapter. If you disagree, just wait. It won't be permanent.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	7. Agents and Unknowns

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Matrix

Woken from exile

Chapter 6: Agents and Unknowns

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Bijū/machine talking"**

"_**Bijū/machine thinking"**_

Messages/Intercom/Transmissions

(Location: Naruto)

He couldn't help but stare at the Agent before him and Watcher. He knew it was Kabuto, but it felt impossible to see him there in the vault. The Kabuto he had known (if only for a brief time) had served Orochimaru, even when he put on an act to make people believe otherwise. But Orochimaru was (unfortunately, the blonde thought) unplugged and on the _Konoha_ while Kabuto was right in front of him. The only thing that had really stayed the same about the shinobi was the smug smirk he always seemed to have on, it was the kind of smirk that made people think he deserved to be punched.

"Are you just going to stand there like an idiot, Naruto?" Kabuto said to the blonde, getting his attention. "Or are you going to say something?"

"You know this Agent?" Watcher asked him as he slowly reached for the pipe he carried.

"I didn't know he was an Agent when I was plugged into the Matrix." He replied, keeping his eyes firmly on Kabuto. "But I thought that he was loyal to Orochimaru back then. I guess not." As he spoke, he asked the Kyūbi a question. _"Did you know about this?"_

"**No, I didn't. The last time I was aware, there were no Agents with the designation of Kabuto."** The fox answered. If he had known about it, he wouldn't hesitate to tell his Jinchūriki.

"Please don't stare at the wall with me right here, Naruto." Kabuto said to him, making the blonde snap his eyes back to him. "It's rude."

"What are you doing here, Kabuto?" He asked the Agent blocking their path to freedom.

"Why, I'm having a conversation with you. Have you grown forgetful since you've been dragged into hell?" There was no subtly to the mocking in his voice. It was there for all of three of them to hear.

The way he said it, mocking and all, made Naruto want to growl and clench his hands into fists. "You mean since I've been unplugged." He said, trying to keep his voice level. It was hard, as he also had to keep himself from reaching out and punching that smug smirk off.

"Unplugged, dragged into hell, it is the same thing." The Agent said with a shrug of his shoulders. "You've been taken away from the life you've knew."

"And how the hell is that your business?" He asked. As he spoke, he began to mentally gauge the distance between where he stood and where the vault entrance was. The fact that Kabuto was in the way was also being factored in. It would make things a little more difficult.

"Do you mind not trying to figure out how to get out of this vault while I am talking to you, Naruto?" Kabuto asked him, interrupting his thoughts. "I know you're quite rude, but that is simply uncalled for."

"If you say so," He replied. And then he acted. While he had been thinking, his hand had also slowly crept to his belt, quietly taking hold of a few smoke bombs. He threw the bombs at the Agent, engulfing him in smoke. Watcher, having seen what he had been doing, pulled out his pipe and blew bubbles into the smoke. Once he was done, the two of them bolted out of the vault and back down the way they came.

"Zehn, we've got an Agent right behind us!" Watcher shouted into the wireless as they went back into the staircase and started running up the stairs, two at a time. "Is the prepared exit still safe?"

"They haven't cut the hardline there, so it's still safe." Zehn replied. "But you still need to get out of there."

"Do we go back the way we came in?" Naruto asked, placing his hand on his own wireless. They had passed the level he had entered from and were now about to reach Watcher's level.

"No, it would take too long. The fastest way to get out of the building is through the back." They heard the rapid tapping of his fingers on the keyboards. "Go up about four more levels. There should be a way that leads to a back entrance from there. But be careful."

"Right, thanks," Watcher replied, taking his hand off of the wireless. Naruto did the same as well. The two of them did as they were told, heading straight for the instructed level. And while the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi was silently hoping that they were moving fast enough to have lost Kabuto, the Jinchūriki of the Rokubi was silently preparing himself for the next time they would meet the Agent.

(Location: Outside the bank)

"I would say that it is nice to see you again, Mr. Yagura." The Agent before them said in a monotone voice. "But since I am not human, I am not, especially after how you evaded us in the Land of Lightning."

"I see you're still sore about that." Scarface replied casually. But inside his mind, things were a little different. _"Isobu, have Chōmei pass this message onto Emerald: fall back to the exit and jack out."_

He felt his Bijū leave and turned his attention back to what was going on before him, just in time to hear Persian say "You try and trap a couple of Agents inside a mountain cave before collapsing the entrance and they never let you hear the end of it."

No one said a word in response (although, he did see a few smiles on some of his team's faces). When he did a quick look around, he saw that most of the guards had backed off. The circle around them had widened, giving the Agent more room. That was not a good sign. He then felt Isobu come back to him. **"She's not happy about it, but she's gone. In a few minutes, she'll jack out."** His Bijū told him.

"_What about Watcher and the FNG?"_ He asked. Since there was an Agent there, asking that question directly to the operator would've been suicide, for him and the other two. But Agents couldn't hear them talk to their Bijū. It was a slower way to pass information, but it was safer.

"**They've got the code and are trying to get out of the bank from the back."** Isobu replied.

He was glad to hear that news. They had what they came for and now, they needed to get out of the Matrix. _"Have Zehn contact the _Kiri_, we'll probably need their help soon."_ It was one thing to have _one_ Agent come after them. It was another thing to have _multiple_ Agents come after them.

"**Okay."** The Sanbi said, disappearing from his mind again. Now all they had to do was wait for the crew of the _Kiri_ to come in and help ensure that the code was delivered safely.

While he kept eye contact with the Agent, he silently signaled Persian and Dune to follow his lead. They got the signal and silently gave their acknowledgment in the form of clenching and unclenching their left fist twice. But before they could even begin, he felt Isobu come back. _"What's the matter?"_ He immediately asked. A message sent and received via Bijū usually took much longer than that.

"**Zehn can't get to the **_**Kiri**_**! He's trying to get through, but for now, we're on our own."** His Bijū informed him. Which meant that was he was planning to do now was more urgent then before.

He acted within an instant, swinging his staff up high and moving forward at the Agent. He swung the staff down, but the Agent had already drawn his weapon in that same instant and blocked the staff. That was when Dune and Persian joined him and everyone else turned their attention back to the guards.

The three of them acted in tandem. Every move was coordinated and done perfectly. And yet, the Agent was able to hold his own. His parries and blocks looked flawless, keeping sand, karambit, and staff away from doing harm to him. And all the while, his face remained neutral, like nothing that was happening right then and there was important.

And while the three of them fought against him, the rest of the _Outcast_ crew threw themselves at the rest of the guards. They couldn't just stand there looking like a bunch of idiots, they had to do something. And trying to make a hole in the ring of guards so they could make an exit was a good idea.

They had split up to try and make multiple holes in the ring. It was the same as before. But instead of fighting to keep the fight going, they were now fighting to make a quick exit. And while they were making a good effort, the guards seemed to have caught on, as they were trying to attack the crew members together.

It was chaos. That was the only way an onlooker would've and could've described it (but then again, there were no onlookers nearby to make that description. Any people who had been near the bank had disappeared when the fighting had originally started). Shouting and screaming rang out in the air, along with the sounds of metal clashing, bones breaking, and blood flying. The crew of the _Konoha_ was using bloody and brutal methods in their fighting. They had to be. Otherwise, they might end up dead.

Several dead guards joined the bodies already on the ground, but it almost seemed impossible to get through to the other side. However, it soon turned out that Molten was getting close. He looked to be about three men short of successfully making a hole. "Gauge, Rapper, help me!" He called out to the other two.

They heard him, turned to see what was happening with him, and immediately made their way to his side. Once they had reached him, they were able to quickly kill the remaining three guards, making the hole they needed. "Yo, we can leave now!" Rapper shouted out to the three who were still fighting the Agent.

"_Isobu, have Gyūki pass this message on: just keep it open."_ Scarface ordered his Bijū, who did as ordered. He kept his attention on fighting the Agent. That was where his attention had to be. If he let it wander, the Agent would know and take advantage of it. And turning one's head to say something would definitely qualify. He swung his staff low, going for the Agent's feet, who then neatly sidestepped it while also used his katana to block a strike from Persian's karambit.

Dune wasn't moving, but he was still fighting. His sand was continually trying to grab hold of one of the Agent's limbs (and sometimes, his head) so that it cover said limb and crush it. But the Agent continually stayed out of reach of the sand while still attacking Scarface and Persian.

As he was trying to knock the katana out of the Agent's hands, the captain of the _Outcast_ felt Isobu come to him. **"Watcher and the FNG are moments away from the back of the bank."** His Bijū told him.

He reached out for the smoke bombs he had on hand and threw to the ground, covering him, the other two, and the Agent in smoke. "Clear out and head for the hole!"" He said to the other two, being barely able to see them in the smoke.

They heard him and obeyed. Both Persian and Dune ran out of the smoke with him right behind them. The three of them went straight for the hole that had been made and once they were through, the other three of the team followed and let the hole they had made collapse in on itself. Before the guards could reorganize themselves (having gotten confused by crashing into one another), the crew of the _Outcast_ was back on the streets and running away at full speed.

(Location: Naruto & Watcher)

They had gotten to the level they needed to go to. Once they had all but kicked the door down to get through, they ran in the direction Zehn had told them to go. They went past many people who obviously worked at the bank, but they didn't pay attention to the surprised expressions that appeared on those people. They had to get out. "There, it's right up ahead!" Watcher shouted, pointing at the exit they were looking for.

Naruto saw what it was the Jinchūriki of the Rokubi was pointing and would've stopped in his tracks if getting out wasn't so important. "That's a window!" He shouted in protest. And jumping out of a window to escape someone was never a good idea (having, unfortunately, done it many times before).

"We don't have a lot of any other options here!" Watcher reminded him, taking the lead. He drew his pipe and quickly blew a single bubble at the window. When the bubble made contact, it exploded and destroyed the window, leaving a hole in the wall of the bank. He didn't slow down when the explosion went off. While the sides were still smoking, he leapt through the hole.

Naruto, having no other choice (as it was jumping out of the hole or waiting for Kabuto to show himself), leapt through the hole as well. Smoke covered his eyes, blindly him momentarily. But then his vision cleared, he found himself sailing through the air. For a single moment, he felt like he was actually flying. Then gravity took control and he landed on a nearby roof in a roll.

When he came out of the roll and back onto his feet, he noticed that he had landed on a different then Watcher. "Guys, don't just stand there like a bunch of idiots!" Zehn shouted into the wireless. "You're going to have Agents crawling all over your asses in a manner of minutes!"

"Is the exit still safe to use?" Watcher asked, sounding a little faint from where the blonde was.

"Yeah, it is. The others are already on their way out. You need to get there as soon as you can." The operator of the _Outcast_ urged the two of them.

"You said it yourself, Zehn." He replied. "We're about to have Agents crawling all over our asses. If the others make it out, they'll be watching that exit and will cut the hardline before we can even get there." It was how they tried to trap crews in the Matrix (with some success).

As Naruto listened in the conversation, he remembered something that he had done the first time he had come to the capital of the Land of Water. But he also needed to check something. "Zehn, are all TVs exits?" The blonde asked the operator.

"Yeah, provided that I know where they are and have enough time to prepare the hardline. Why?" He asked back.

"Look in the area around Turtle Street, in the Raging Waves borough. You should find one there." He told him.

"That's a slum." Watcher objected. He had been to the capital many times when he had been a shinobi of the Hidden Mist and he knew where the slums were. The Raging Waves borough was one of the worst slums in the city and the Land of Water. The saying was that if you were going to go into the Raging Waves borough, bring firepower. You were most likely going to need it.

"Exactly my point," Naruto replied. "Now, come on!" He took off in the direction of the Raging Waves borough, knowing enough of the capital to where he was. The two of them were a good five minutes away from the borough if they booked it. Time was of the essence now, especially since they were likely to have Agents coming after them.

Once he saw the blonde leaving, Watcher had no choice but to go after him. _"Please let him know what he's doing."_ He prayed to whatever deity was looking over the hellish wasteland that was the Earth.

As the two of them ran across the rooftops, letting the various things they saw fuse into one never-ending picture, he heard footsteps that didn't belong to him or the FNG. Turning his head back for a brief moment, he whipped it back when he saw what it was. "We've got Agents behind us!" He shouted up to the FNG. He had only seen two, but that was enough.

"We need to keep moving!" The FNG shouted back at him. He couldn't have agreed more. The Agents were a ways away behind them, but they wouldn't stop them for long. The two of them would have to resort to evasion tactics soon if they were going to get of this alive. But he blew a few bubbles back at them, just to be sure.

He wasn't sure if it worked or not, mostly because he didn't want to look back to see if it had. He knew that a few of his bubbles would outright stop a couple of Agents. It would only slow them down for the briefest of moments. But right now, that was all he and the FNG would need at this point.

When they had reached the borough, the FNG stopped at the edge of a roof. "We need to get to ground level." The blonde told him urgently. "Should we jump?"

"No, go through the building. We can lose the Agents that way." He replied. He leapt down off of the roof and quickly angled himself at an open window he had quickly noticed. Luckily, the room he landed in was empty. He quickly stepped to the side to allow the FNG to arrive, who did so barely moments later.

"Okay, I've got the hardline up and ready to use." Zehn told the two of them through the wireless as the FNG stood up from where he had landed (having rolled a little further then Watcher did and almost ended up against the wall).

"What about the others?" Watcher asked the operator with a slightly worried tone in his voice. He was hoping that they had made it out.

"Only one Agent went after them and they managed to escape him. They're on their way out."

In any other case, he might've breathed a sigh of relief at those words. But that wasn't the time to do so. "We need to split up." He told the FNG. "We'll be able to avoid detection from the Agents more easily that way."

"But you don't know where to go now!" The blonde instantly protested, as he had been the one who had been leading the charge until just then.

"I can have Zehn give me the coordinates. We don't have time to argue about this, so move!" He quickly made his way to the exit of the apartment they were in and he could hear the FNG following right behind him. Once they found the exit and went through it, they found themselves in a hallway.

"Look, if you get there before I do, wait until I do get there." The FNG told him before taking off down one end of the hallway. Mystified by what the blonde said but knowing that he still had to move, Watcher went down the other end of the hallway.

* * *

><p>Naruto had lucked out by finding out that there was a staircase at the end of the hall that went both up and down. But it was only down he was interested in right now. The second door he had passed before reaching the staircase had all but shattered when a katana had burst through the wood and almost severed his head from his shoulders. He had thankfully ducked in time and kept moving, but he now knew that an Agent had somehow gotten ahead of him and tried to ambush him.<p>

As he practically flew down the steps, he kept looking back up to see if there was anyone coming after him (or to be more precise, any Agent). He kept seeing brief flickers of feet moving down the steps above him and that just made him move all the more faster. "How far away am I from ground floor?" He asked Zehn through the wireless.

"You've only got a few more floors, just keep going." The operator replied. "Watcher's already out of the building and on the street."

"Understood," He said, taking his hand off of the wireless and kept running. In what only felt like a few second (but in reality, were probably minutes), he was out of the building and on street level. Taking a quick look back and seeing that whichever Agent was following him, he pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head and promptly disappeared into the crowd.

It was a skill he was proud of, being able to vanish with a group of people. It had been one of the many ways he had kept himself hidden and alive from any searching shinobi during those six years. He didn't know if any Agents looking for him would somehow be able to find him, but he was going to go with what he knew best and kept him alive.

He kept moving, making sure his head was done and staying mostly out of sight (as staying completely out of sight was just as revealing as staying in sight He had found that it was better to let them catch glimpses and get confused then lose him entirely and start taking groups apart looking for him. He learned that lesson in the Land of Earth). After walking through a couple of streets and switching groups about ten or so times, he was confident in the fact that the Agents had lost him. But he had to be sure. "Zehn, are they still looking for me?" He quietly asked the operator.

"Of course they're still looking for you." Zehn's voice was both sarcastic and on edge, showing how nervous he was getting. "But for now, they've lost you. If you want to get out, now's the time."

"Where's Watcher?" He couldn't leave without him. If he did that, he had a feeling that the rest of the team would not be happy with him.

"He's on his way to the location."

"Remind him not to go in until I get there." He removed his hand from the wireless and continued moving with the crowds. No one had paid attention to him as he had spoken, assuming that it would be liable to get them into trouble or worse, killed. Still unsure if the Agents would be able to find him within the crowds, he kept switching groups, doing so until he was able to reach the location.

Thankfully, he had arrived before Watcher had, making that particular worry all for naught. Watcher himself arrived barely a minute later. "Any Agents following you?" asked the Jinchūriki of the Rokubi.

"No. What about you?" The Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi asked in return.

He shook his head in reply. "No. I was able to lose them, at least, for now. I have no doubt that they will be back and they will track us down." That was an inevitable fact of the Matrix. Every time you went in, you ran the risk of being caught.

"Then we need to go." The blonde turned to the door behind them, opened it, and walked through. Watcher followed, seeing that it was a practically empty warehouse (the reason it was practical and not literal was because there were shelves and there were some things on those shelves). He then noticed that the FNG wasn't heading deeper into the warehouse, but instead to nearby office room.

"What are we doing here?" He asked the blonde, following him into the office room and seeing that it had very little office furniture and what was there looked like they could be reduced to kindling with a sneeze.

"I had a bolt-hole made here in case shinobi came looking." Naruto replied as he walked straight to the wall on the other end of the room. Once he was there, he reached out and began to feel the wall, looking for that particular edge that he knew was there. He found it within a few seconds, took hold of it, and pulled. The hidden door swung open and revealed the descending staircase behind it. Letting go of the door and creating a clone, he started walking down the stairs.

"Why would you make something like this?" Watcher asked as he followed the FNG down the stairs. As they went down, they heard the sound of the door closing behind them.

"A fear of Konoha shinobi trying to find me so they had an excuse to kill me," The blonde replied as he took a turn. "Then it became a worry that other villages would try to find and use me because of the fox." And, as it turned out, he had been right to have it, just for the wrong reasons.

"And you only have this one?" That wouldn't do much. Any shinobi who were worth their kunai in tracking skills would've figured he kept coming back here to hide away.

"No, of course not," He replied, sounding faintly insulted by those words. "I've got bolt-holes set up all over the Elemental Countries." The conversation went silent as the two of them quickly went down the stairs. Watcher was unsure of how long it actually took to get down all of the steps, but at the pace they were going, it didn't feel like a long time.

When they reached the bottom of the staircase and saw a door, the blonde walked up to it and pushed it open. He went through and the Jinchūriki of Saiken followed. Once inside, he gave the place a brief look around. _"Well, this was not what I was expecting."_ He thought to himself as he closed the door behind him.

"**I think the word you're looking for is 'cozy'."** His Bijū told him. He had to agree with that. The bolt-hole did indeed look cozy. It wasn't exactly the cleanest of places (and considering they were currently underground, he was willing to understand that bit). There were enough chakra lamps to give the place enough light the place and to show that there was a tunnel at the other end. There were only a few things of interest in the place (a sleeping bag, an ice box, and a table with a small TV on it), but the place still gave off a feeling of coziness.

The FNG, however, didn't waste any time. He went straight to the TV on the table and turned it on. When he did, Zehn's face appeared. "You guys need to jack out fast." He told them urgently. "The Agents have zeroed in on your location and moving in. The one called Kabuto is the closest and will be down there within a minute!"

"I'll go first." Watcher said, walked up to the table and taking the video cassette that was sitting on the table next to the TV. "FNG, watch what I do and then repeat." He told the blonde, who nodded once in acknowledgment. He then took the cassette tape into his hands and inserted it into the TV. Once taken, the screen of the TV grew bright. The light from the screen seemed to engulf Watcher entirely for a second or two. When the light finally faded down again, the brunette was gone.

Naruto just stared at the screen in wonder and amazement. He had never seen anything like that before (but then again, considering the situation he was in, he was guessing that there were a lot of things out there that he had never seen before). Zehn's face appeared back on the screen again, snapping the blonde out of it. "Alright, your turn," The operator told him.

"Hold on, give me a moment." He quickly turned to face the wall next to the ice box and walked up to it. He placed his hand on it and began to pump a tiny amount of his chakra into what was behind the wall.

"Hey, we don't have time for to be playing around here." The _Outcast's_ operator reminded him with an annoyed and urgent tone of voice. "That Agent is about to come down those stairs!"

"Just give me a moment." The blonde repeated himself, focusing on what he was doing. _"There! That should do it!"_ He thought to himself once he was done. Turning back around, he went for the ejected cassette tape and pushed it back in. As the screen began to brighten up again, seemingly covering him in the light, he had thought he heard the door being smashed open.

* * *

><p>When he opened his eyes and saw that he was back on the <em>Outcast<em>, he breathed out a sigh of relief. Looking over and seeing that it was Fū pulling the plug of his headjack, he knew that she had gotten out safely. "Is it always like that whenever you go in?" He asked her.

"Sometimes," She replied, putting the plug away. "But that's usually when we have to be careful. Otherwise, we're liable to end up dead." It was a chilling thought, but it was also good advice.

"Naruto, why didn't you immediately jack out?" Yagura asked from where he stood next to Zehn. When the blonde looked over, he saw that the rest of the crew was there already, watching the screens as their operator typed at the keyboards.

"That bolt-hole was compromised, so I had to get rid of it." He replied easily enough. It was a tactic he had planned to use with each and every one of his bolt-holes. If one was discovered, he had to get rid of it. "I had the place covered in explosive tags. Depending on how much chakra I put into them, they would start a long or short countdown. I was hoping to take Kabuto out with that explosion."

"It wouldn't have worked." Han told him with a shake of his head. "Mostly likely, he left the human he had taken over before it had collapsed." They had watched the warehouse collapse on the code screens. It had barely made a ripple on the screens itself.

"Damn, there goes that plan." The blonde swore. It probably would've saved him a lot of trouble. But now, he just knew that Kabuto would be waiting for him now every time he jacked into the Matrix.

Fū was about to reach down and unhook the manacles holding his feet when one of the screens started beeping rapidly. "Did it come through?" She asked Zehn, immediately heading over to where everyone else was.

"Hey!" Naruto said in protest, still stuck in the chair. But no one was paying attention to him at that point. Everyone else, including the Bijū, was now surrounding Zehn.

"Well?" The green-haired kunoichi asked the operator.

"Hold on a minute." He replied, focusing on the screens before him, his fingers dancing across the keyboards. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as he worked. "There!" He declared, hitting a final key. "We now know where the tunnels the squids use."

"Dear Kami, they're all over the place." Rōshi said as he looked at the information on one of the screens to the side. The Sentinels were just grouped in one spot on the map being shown. They were covering a lot of ground in the tunnels. And while this information would help lower the chances of a ship being ambushed, it also where a ship couldn't go (which was a lot of tunnels).

"**Did you honestly expect them to not be covering a lot of ground?"** Son asked his Jinchūriki. The Yonbi managed to make it sound like a question, while also sounding like he was chastising the man.

He scowled at his Bijū, who was currently sitting on his shoulder. He had heard the chastisement and didn't like it. "I knew that much going into this thing. I can still be surprised by how much ground the squids are actually covering, okay?"

"Zehn, when you're ready, I want you to send the data to the other ships." Yagura told his operator.

"Aye aye, Captain," Zehn replied, readying the data to be transferred to other ships. Once the information was sent, everyone onboard a ship would know what tunnels to avoid.

"What about that second code we found?" Utakata asked the operator. The two codes had been sent directly to the computers when both he and Naruto had jacked out. The first one had been decoded almost instantly, revealing the information they jacked in for. But the second code was growing more mysterious as the seconds passed.

"Working on it right now," He replied, his fingers already going back to dancing across the keyboards. For the next couple of minutes, the only real sound that was heard in the broadcasting room was the keyboards being typed on. "…Huh, that's weird." He finally said, frowning at the screen.

"What is it?" Yagura instantly asked him, trying to see what it was that made him say that. But he couldn't get a good look at the screen due to where he was standing.

"It seems that the second code was a cache of data for…firearms." He said it like he couldn't believe what he was seeing and saying. But that was what the screen was showing him and everyone else.

"Firearms?" repeated Yugito. "You mean guns? Are you sure you're reading that thing right, Zehn?"

"Of course I am!" He snapped at her, annoyed that someone would try to question his ability to read stuff like this.

"But that's impossible! Guns only exist in the real world and only in New Zion at that." She protested.

"Well, I'm looking at information that's telling me that not only can we use these guns in the Matrix, we can use them with only one hand." That got everyone's attention. What guns that did exist in New Zion were massive and either had to have a crew to man it or be attached to an APU. The only things that were smaller than that were the lightning rifles, which had be held with two hands and was still cumbersome to use.

"Well, what should we do about this information?" Fū asked them all. There was a possible chance of the information the cache was showing them could help them inside the Matrix. But they still didn't know much about it. She could even hear Chōmei hovering anxiously overhead.

"**Perhaps we should test the information out."** Gyūki suggested from where he sat on Bee's head.

"**Can we test it out?"** Isobu asked from where he sat on Yagura's head (as they all wanted to see what was going on the screens, the nine Bijū were sitting somewhere on the upper bodies of their respective Jinchūriki. The only exception was Kurama, as he was sitting on Zehn's head).

"Of course we can." The operator told the Sanbi. "The cache has data we can actually use, not just information. If we put the data and someone in a program, that person should be able to use it."

"Okay then." Naruto said aloud, getting the attention of everyone else. "I volunteer to be said person, mostly because I'm _still stuck in the chair_!" He threw Fū a pointed look when he said those words.

"**Don't get your panties in a twist, gaki."** Kurama said with a bored expression on his face. **"You and I both know that you have been stuck in worse positions then that." ** The rest of the Bijū swung their attention over to him, suddenly appearing very interested in what the Kyūbi was saying. **"Not now, you guys." **He told them when he noticed their looks.

Fū, however, had the decency to look a little embarrassed. She had been excited to see what they got that she had completely ignored the blonde. "Sorry." She apologized to him.

"Fū, get him ready." The captain of the _Outcast_ ordered her. She nodded and went over to Naruto's chair. As she had left him strapped to the chair, all she really had to do was standby with the probe at the ready.

"What program should we put him into?" Zehn asked his captain, turning his head slightly to look at him.

There was silence in the room as he thought it over. "The forest program," He finally declared. Both Fū and Zehn reacted when he said those words. She inserted the probe and he loaded the program. Within a few minutes, Naruto was jacked in.

* * *

><p>He found himself back in the forest with the path lying before him. But this time, something was different. In his hands was what the others had called guns, one in each hand. As he looked at them, trying to figure them out, the information was downloaded into his head, making his eyelids flutter rapidly. He would like to say that he felt something when this process hit him, but the truth was that he didn't. He actually felt like his body was shut down and all he could was watch.<p>

But the end results were worth the lack of feeling. Once the information was downloaded into him, he could look at the guns in his hands and tell that they were Desert Eagles .50 AE. He knew how fire them, how to chamber a bullet, how to properly hold it, and how to reload it. And it wasn't just for this particular kind of weapon either. He now knew how to operate any kind of gun Zehn could give him.

Without waiting for an order to start, he charged straight into the forest. The targets were in the same places as before, but he wasn't going to complain about that. In fact, he was glad for it. Because of that, he knew where to shoot. And shoot he did. Bullets shot out from the chambers they were in and flew directly at the targets, hitting them solidly. Even when the targets began to appear in the odd and unconventional places, he did not stop. He kept moving and kept firing, hitting each and every one of the targets.

As he moved and fired off the bullets, he felt something different. Whenever information was downloaded into his head, it felt….static, for a lack of a better word. Like, he knew what he could do now that he had the information, but it didn't feel right to him until he had gotten used to it. That wasn't the case with the Desert Eagles. The second he had them in his hands, there was no static. He felt like he had used these kinds of weapons before and had used them well.

And when he opened fire, they came alive in his hands. They became a part of himself as he moved, like a part of his own body. It was a bad way to explain the feeling, he would later admit to that. But that was the only way he could describe how he wielded the Desert Eagles. He was one with the guns and he used that to deadly effect.

When he approached his usual stopping point, he did not hesitate. He did not think to stop. He did not think about how to do it. He did not think about whether he could do it or not. He did not think at all. He let his mind go blank as he ran up the trunk of the left tree and leapt up over the branches where the targets were. As he sailed overhead, he aimed his guns and fired once. His vision was clear and the targets were hit.

As he didn't hear anyone telling him to stop as he landed back on the ground, he kept going, running right between the two trees. It felt running past a gate that had been closed to him for a long time. And beyond that gate lay harder and more difficult things. There were targets positioned in places that would've made a normal person twist themselves into a pretzel and then some to hit.

But he wasn't a normal person, and he didn't let them stop him. He tore through that forest, all but dancing as he moved. It seemed like a dance to him now and the guns were his partner. Even reloading felt like a part of the dance. He twisted, turned, swerved, ducked, rolled, and did everything in between as he fired off the bullets in his guns, reloading every time he was empty.

"_Dear Kami, this is fucking amazing!"_ He silently declared as he blazed through the forest. The feeling the guns gave off every time he fired them was nothing like he had felt before. If he had grandeurs of delusion, he would've said that he felt like a god.

But he didn't have that and the fox that had been with him since the beginning made sure. **"Good to know."** Kurama said to him. **"Now stay focused!"**

"_I know that, furball."_ He replied, staying focused. He was liable to run into a tree if he didn't pay attention now. But he paid attention to what he was doing and he kept on shooting the targets, hitting every one of them.

"Okay, that's enough now. You can stop." He heard Zehn's voice say over head.

"Oh, come on. I can still go on." He said back with a slight pleading tone in his voice. This was the farthest he had ever gotten in the forest and he wanted to keep going.

"Naruto, stop," His captain ordered him with a firm tone in his voice. It was a tone that brokered no argument and the blonde knew it. Even though he wanted to say something in protest, he stopped and lowered his guns.

* * *

><p>When he opened his eyes and saw that he was back in the broadcasting room, he looked over at where Zehn was sitting. "Well?" The blonde asked the operator.<p>

"I think that they could work." Zehn replied. "You ran almost nearly as far as the captain did and every target you hit was dead center." The operator looked and sounded impressed as he spoke.

"Is that why you made me stop?" Naruto asked Yagura with a small grin on his face. But the captain didn't say anything in reply. As Fū finally undid the manacles on his feet, he got out of the chair with a sound of relief. For some reason, he felt stiff. Well, with any luck, that would fade.

"So, it's proven that a handheld gun can be used." Han began, looking at everyone else there. "The question is this: _should_ we use it?"

"Why not?" asked the blonde as he walked over to the rest of them. When he got there, he plucked Kurama off of their operator's head.

"**Hey!"** The fox said in protest, his feet and tails lashing out on instinct as he was held by the scruff of his neck.

"That is not your head to nest in, furball." Naruto told his Bijū, putting him down on the floor. "I'm sure Zehn was getting uncomfortable trying to make sure you didn't fall off." The Kyūbi grumbled a protest, but said nothing else.

"We've never done something like this before." Han told the blonde, ignoring the small conversation that had just happened. "It's one thing to upload the information into a program. It's another to try to find a way to use it inside the Matrix, if such a way is possible."

"Actually, I think there is such a way." Zehn spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "It may take some doing, but I could probably load the information up into the Construct and then send it into the Matrix."

"That sounds like a reasonable idea." Utakata remarked. They had all seen how Naruto had wielded those two guns. He was sure that the rest of them, as well as the other ships, could manage to pick up (they would have to figure it out, even with the download. But they could pick it up).

"But is it an idea that we should go through with?" Han asked the Jinchūriki of Saiken. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got a feeling that this is probably going to come back and bite us in the ass."

"How?" asked Bee. He, for one, wanted to see if he could do what Naruto had done (but probably with something that was a little faster. He felt the guns the blonde had used would probably be a little slow for his taste).

"I don't know. I just have the feeling." Kokuō's Jinchūriki replied.

"**Yes, we should all be in awe of your feeling."** Shukaku replied with a drawl that just screamed sarcasm. Kokuō looked like he was about to attack the Ichibi, but then Gaara took care of it.

"Shukaku, I believed I've told you to behave before." The redhead said as he took the tanuki off of his shoulder and threw him at the wall. There was no permanent damage to the Bijū when he smacked headfirst into the wall (he's a Bijū, it's going to take more than a wall to do him in). But he was rubbing the spot where he hit the wall.

"**I wish you would stop doing that."** He groused at his Jinchūriki. He was really getting tired of being thrown against the wall whenever he said something that no one else agreed with.

"I wish you would think before you speak." Gaara replied, crossing his arms and giving the tanuki a severe look. "That way, I wouldn't have to do that to you."

"Enough." Yagura said, getting both of their attention. "Shukaku, you really need to think before you open your mouth." He told the Ichibi.

"**Among other things,"** Matatabi remarked to herself, but loud enough to let everyone else hear her. Thankfully, no one snigger, chuckled, or laughed. No one even cracked a smile.

The captain shot the Nibi and her Jinchūriki a look, but the cat said nothing and Yugito raised her hands in a surrendering gesture. Despite being together, it was obvious that they don't share the same opinion. "In any case, are there any effects of having this information uploaded into the Matrix we should be aware of?" He asked Zehn.

The operator thought it over for a minute or so before shaking his head. "No, I don't think so." He answered the captain.

Everyone just looked at him in silence, which made him start to feel slightly uncomfortable. Finally, before anyone else could say something, Yagura did. "Alright, get to work readying everything to upload the information, but don't do it until I say so." He turned to look at the rest of the crew. "Everyone else, cafeteria," He ordered.

* * *

><p>They all sat around the table in the cafeteria (although some were behind the counter or perched on the edge of the Cooler). While some only had food in front of them, they all looked at Yagura, who was sitting at the de facto head of the table. "Alright, what do you all think?" He asked the rest of them.<p>

"What do we think of what?" Naruto asked back from where he sat, obviously confused by what was going on (but he also felt a little uncomfortable due to the fact that everyone else was there). What he got for a reply was a slight slap on the side of his head from Kurama.

"**Shut up and pay attention."** The fox told him.

"Something was going on with that mission, captain." Fū said to Yagura, starting the conversation. "I don't what, but something was going on."

"I agree." Utakata said from he stood against the counter with a bowl of food in hand. But it looked like he wasn't eating from it. "I think that we were playing along to someone else's script and we didn't even know it."

"**If that's the case, whose script were we playing along to?" **Shukaku asked, sitting in front of Gaara. He was behaving a little more politely since he had been thrown at the wall. He may start acting up again but for now, he didn't want to get thrown again (it may not do him in, but it still hurt).

"**Does it look like either of them knows the answer to that?"** Chōmei asked back, sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

"**Hey, I was just asking. Someone had to."** The tanuki said in his defense.

"Well, whoever it was had to have known about what was in the safe deposit box." Yugito pointed out from where she was leaned against the wall, next to the door. "And since New Zion got that transmission from inside the Matrix, the person we're looking for has to be in the Matrix."

"A program?" asked Rōshi, like he couldn't believe what she had said. "You can't be serious, Yugito."

"Can you think of any other possible scenario?" She asked back, looking him straight in the eye as she spoke. "I can't."

Everyone fell silent as they thought it over. But despite what they tried to think of, what she said made the best sense. It could've only been a program from the Matrix. But even when they all silently agreed on that point, another question loomed over them. It was a question none of them liked and none really wanted to say aloud. But it still had to be said. "So, what program was worth having three Agents coming after us?" Gaara said, deciding to be the one who asked the question.

"The Oracle, perhaps?" offered Han.

But Yagura shook his head in the negative. "She wouldn't be so discreet. She would've just contacted us outright." He said. "Neither would she halt communications between ships."

"And she wouldn't have played around with the information about the bank." Utakata added, remembering how Zehn seemed to have lost the information on the bank and suddenly getting it back. If that wasn't someone playing with them, he didn't know what was.

"**So who is it?"** Son asked from where he laid in front of his Jinchūriki, looking like he was completely bored out of his mind. But he wasn't. He was completely alert and paying attention to where the conversation was going.

"Don't you guys know?" Bee asked the Yonbi.

But it was his own Bijū who answered him. **"Not even we know everything about the Matrix, Bee."** Gyūki told him. **"I don't think there's anything in the Matrix that knows about it all."** Truth be told, if there was such a thing, it would make him feel very nervous.

Yagura sighed. "Looks like there's nothing we can do about it now." He said to all of them. "For now, I'll have Zehn pull out every trick he's got to see if he'll be able to find something about that safe deposit box. In the meantime, we have something else to attend to."

"What's that?" Naruto asked, finally speaking again. He had thought that they had all gone to the cafeteria to just discuss the mission, nothing else.

Instead of answering him outright, everyone just turned to look at him. With all the looks and stares pointing at him, he had the sudden urge to flee from the cafeteria. He was the one closest to the door, he could do it. But before he could even move, he got smacked in the side of the head by the fox again. **"Don't even think about it."** Kurama told him warningly. **"Just sit still."**

He did as he was told. Looking at everyone else, he tried to look them all in the eye (which is a little hard when they're all over the place). Finally, Yagura looked over at Fū and Utakata (who the blonde had just realized were sitting together). "How did he do?" The captain of the _Outcast_ asked the two of them.

"He did well, very well." Utakata answered. "He remained in control of himself from beginning to end. When something came up, he adapted and continued. He didn't go off on his own. He stayed in contact."

"The only real slipup he made was when he called us by our actual names." Fū added. "But that was only once and he stuck to the codenames."

"And when we had to jack out in a different way, he offered a solution that worked out." The Jinchūriki of the Rokubi continued. "All-in-all, he belongs on this ship."

"That's good to hear." The captain turned to the blonde in question. "Alright, Naruto, your first mission aboard this ship had been successful. Therefore, you are no longer required to be called the FNG. What would you like to be called?"

There was a tone in his voice that made the words sound like they were something of a tradition. But the blonde was still a little confused. "Huh?" He asked intelligently.

Kurama rolled his eyes in exasperation. _**"You are such an idiot sometimes." **_He thought to himself. **"He's can asking you to pick a codename, gaki."** He said aloud to his Jinchūriki.

"Oh. Umm…" He tried to think of a good codename, one that would do him justice. But as names came and went from his mind, he couldn't think of one. He tried to consulting his memories to see if he could find a name there. That was when it came to him. He had worn a travelers coat for the better part of those six years of exile. It had been a reassuring weight on his shoulders, which was why he had asked for one while he had been in the Construct. "Does Cloak sound good to you guys?" He finally asked them.

The rest of the crew shared a brief look with one another. Then they all smiled and turned back to look at him. "It's a good name." Yagura told him with a smile on his face. "Welcome to the _Outcast_, Cloak." The others started welcoming him as well before starting to clap. To him, it felt like they were finally welcoming into the family, even though he had joined a while back. He was now a fully accepted member of the ship.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

Anyone disappointed that there wasn't a fight between Naruto and Kabuto? Oh well. Really, where's the fun in that?

If you spend six years in exile with the thought of being killed if found, I think it would be prudent to have developed some level of paranoia. And that's what Naruto did and that's why he built those bolt-holes. And please note, I never said that he had bought the warehouse where the bolt-hole had been.

I figured that since the only guns that the crews of the ships had seen were either a part of the New Zion defense system, they would find it hard to believe that one could be used in only one hand. With any luck, I managed to get that across.

And I am well aware of the fact that the Desert Eagle .50 AE is the same gun the Agents use, that was on purpose. Now, I'm not a gun nut, so if any of you readers think that a specific kind of gun should go with a character, let me know. I could use the help.

I know that there had been a few of you who wanted me to give Naruto a codename like Joker, Fox, or Maverick (granted, this happened when I started this story). And while some of them were decent, I wanted to be a little more original. Hence, Cloak.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	8. Port and Parties

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Matrix

Woken from exile

Chapter 7: Port and Parties

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Bijū/machine talking"**

"_**Bijū/machine thinking"**_

Messages/Intercom/Transmissions

(Location: Naruto)

He felt the whole ship shudder slightly as it was landed on its designated place in the dock. "Alright, people, we're back in New Zion." He heard Zehn speak through the intercom. "Everyone minus the Bijū will go ashore." There was a beat of silence. "That means you too, Naruto."

But when the intercom went dead, he didn't move. **"You do realize that if you try to stay in here, one of them will come in here and drag you out."** Kurama said from where he laid on the bed. **"My money's going to be on Bee."**

"You don't have any money." Naruto replied, sitting on the other end of the bed. "I told you that the last time we were here."

"**The fact remains the same. Either you come out of this room willingly, or one of them drags you out. The fact remains the same: you will be coming out of this room."**

"Ugh, do I have too?" He asked, sounding a little childish as he spoke. "The last time I was here, things almost turned into a panic."

The fox just stretched for a moment before completely relaxing. **"Well, it's either going out there and potentially running into the people you don't want to meet again, or staying on the ship and putting up with us Bijū. And we will try to make you miserable."** His Jinchūriki was up off the bed and out the door in less than ten seconds. **"That's what I thought!"**

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled back at his Bijū as he walked through the corridors of the _Outcast_. He might not want to be stuck with any chance of being found by the _Konoha_ crew, but he would rather take his chances with that then stay alone aboard the ship, especially if they found booze. Sometimes, the Cooler just didn't cut it. One drunken Bijū was enough to see. He didn't need to see what the other eight might turn out to be like.

It was because of that small fear he arrived in the hanger in record time. The only other person there was the captain. "You make good time." Yagura commented as he watched the blonde show himself.

"My Bijū threatened me." Naruto replied. It was the only thing he could think to say (it was true, after all).

"They will do that." He said back, making it sound like what he had just heard was completely normal.

"So, why are we back? We were only out for two months." The blonde asked. The first month had been spent mainly on his training. But after that mission, they had spent the remaining time trying to find out who that safety deposit box belonged to, both inside and out of the Matrix. But all they got in return were a lot of dead ends, only turning up the fact that the box belonged to a program that knew how to keep itself hidden and other programs didn't talk about.

"We can't stay out in the pipes, Naruto. Every ship has to come back to New Zion to refuel and resupply. Plus, the Council wants to speak to me about my decision to upload the guns into the Matrix." The captain explained to him.

"Should I come along with you for that?" He asked.

Yagura briefly shook his head. "No, they just want me. It's just a routine debriefing."

"Oh, okay. I just wanted to be sure." The first and so far, only, Council meeting he had been to was a fairly exciting one.

(Flashback)

Tsunade stood up from her chair and started shouting in protest, making the rest of the room do the same. While some of them were following her lead and shouting in protest to what Danzō had just said, others were shouting at them. And others were just taking the opportunity to throw insults at one another. All-in-all, it got very loud and very confusing in a matter of seconds. Things looked like they were about to involve fists when one of the council elders, a somewhat short, blocky man with scars littering his exposed skin and a head completely shaved head, stood up from his seat. "SHUT IT!" He bellowed, making all the others turn silent. His voice was like a horn, powerful and capable of overriding others.

As the voices all went silent at the sound (and volume) of his command, they all sat down when he did. "Thank you, Tora." The council elder who was sitting next to the man told him with a nod of approval.

"No problem, Katana." He replied as he sat back down. The man he was talking to was completely different appearance-wise. He was tall and had regal bearing to him. His face made him almost look like a hawk (Naruto would later think it had to do with his nose). His black hair was long and tied away in the form of a ponytail.

"In any event, we must discuss what just happened." A third member of the council said to the rest of them. She was an old woman who kept her white hair in a bun and had the kind of wrinkles around her mouth that came from a lot of smiling. If someone just looked at her, they would've thought that she was the definition of a kind old lady. But Naruto wasn't fooled, he could see the iron in her eyes and he heard it in her voice.

"Indeed we must." The council elder the blonde would later discover was Tsunade's grandmother said in agreement, looking over at the three remaining council members. "Tsunade, you know the law just as well as the rest of us." She told the captain of the _Konoha_, who stood up to speak.

"Naruto belongs on my ship." Tsunade replied stubbornly, a scowl showing on her face as she spoke. "He is from Konohagakure and as such, belongs on the _Konoha_."

"The law takes no exceptions, Captain." Katana told her with a firm voice. "That is why it exists." There was a murmur of agreement from the people in the seats behind the _Konoha_ captain and her senior officers.

"**Are you not going to say anything?"** The Kyūbi asked from inside the Naruto's mind as the two of them watched this all go on.

The blonde was still standing before the Council, having not gotten permission to go back to his seat. _"Why would I?"_ He asked back. _"She seems perfectly capable of burying her own grave. I see no reason to interfere."_

"**I've taught you well, my student. You are truly a vicious bastard now."** There was a small amount of pride in the fox's voice when he said those words.

"_You are too kind, sensei. I only hope to emulate the master."_ He replied. His mental voice was laced with a small amount of sarcasm.

"**Thank you."** There was a moment of silence. **"Wait…was that praise or an insult?"** The Bijū asked him, having caught the small sarcastic tone.

He only smiled slightly in return. _"I'll let you try to figure that one out."_ All he got in return was a grumble of annoyance about ungrateful Jinchūrikis. He had to force himself to not laugh at what he was hearing come from the fox.

"The law is idiotic to begin with." Tsunade protested what she had heard. "It puts all the Jinchūriki into one ship, which makes them prime targets for the machines. All they would have to do is send an army of squids after the _Outcast_ and they would have the nine Jinchūriki in their clutches within minutes, if not seconds."

"What would you rather have us do, Tsunade?" Homura asked her. The man still looked the same after all these years (with the exception of a few wrinkles here and there). He still had the grey beard, the glasses, and what Naruto always thought was a permanent frown on his face. "Keep the Jinchūriki here in New Zion or on the ships that unplugged them?"

"It's better than keeping all the eggs in one basket, Homura. You and I both know that!" She told him. It seemed like she was trying desperately not snarl at the man or punch him through one of the walls.

"No, it's not." Koharu disagreed. Like Homura, the only real thing different about her was a few wrinkles. She was also missing the pair of earrings she had always worn when Naruto had seen her. "If you will recall, Tsunade, before the law was put into place, the Jinchūriki were indeed kept on the ship that unplugged them. And we were losing ships all the time because of that. If we had not put the rule into place, it is very likely that the Machines could've breached our defenses and destroyed New Zion by now."

"What you could've done was refit the ships so they could be like the _Outcast_, with more speed." The captain of the _Konoha_ tried to argue.

"Tsunade, you very well know that would've taken too long and we only had the bare materials to make one new ship, not refit five, much less more." Katana told her. The scowl that appeared on his face seemed to make the hawk in him much more evident, like it was about to swoop down for the kill.

But while most probably would've looked away or outright cowered in view of such a look, she did not. "If you tried to refit the ships, there would've been leftover material to help you along. Hell, refitting the _Iwa_ could've given you enough to build a whole new ship."

"I would advise not saying that to Captain Ōnoki." The old woman (whose name she went by, Naruto would later learn, was Mother. He found that to be a little odd) told her. To the casual ear, it sounded like she was just making a comment. But to those who knew what to listen for, they could hear the warning in those words.

"This is not up for debate, Captain Tsunade." Danzō said, cutting her off before she could say anything else. "Naruto Uzumaki will be transferred to the _Outcast_ effective immediately. The matter is closed."

"Let it go, Tsunade." Orochimaru whispered into her ear when it looked like she was going to protest again (and loudly too). "You knew it wasn't going to happen anyway."

"He's right, Tsunade." Jiraiya said quietly in agreement into her other ear. "Just let the matter drop. They're not banning us from seeing him. They're just putting him on the ship he belongs on, that's all."

"He belongs with us." Their captain whispered back stubbornly. "I'm not going to lose someone I consider a grandson again."

Naruto, having heard them whisper behind his back, went still when he heard those words. _"What does she mean 'lose'?"_ He silently demanded. _"She and the rest of the damn village kicked me out!"_

"**Should I take it that you're going to take that lying down?"** The Kyūbi asked with a hopeful grin on his face. It was quite enjoyable to watch when his Jinchūriki threw in a sucker punch (whether it would be in a fight or words).

"_What do you think?"_ He replied back before turning his attention back to the Council. "Excuse me, honored Council elders, but is there any way I can lodge a complaint against the _Konoha_ and its crew?" He asked politely, knowing full well that manners were the key here.

But his words had already gotten the interest of the Council. "And why exactly would you want to do that?" Tora asked. The kid had only been unplugged a few days. Okay, granted he may have originally come from Konohagakure, but it had been six years. People change.

"I just want to be sure if they can be punished for forcing me to be unplugged." He asked with enough innocence to make it sound convincing.

To his satisfaction, there was ten seconds of silence after he has spoken, with everyone looking at him in stunned silence. Then, with the exception of Tsunade and her officers, the whole room shouted one thing in complete unison. "WHAT!?"

(End Flashback)

After that, the attention swung onto the captain of the _Konoha_. Jiraiya had confessed almost immediately, seeing how they couldn't keep it a secret any longer. He wasn't sure what happened next as one of the Council aides escorted him to the Pit Stop, leaving him just outside of it. That led to meeting the crew of the _Konoha_ again and meeting Temari. "So, if you're going to talking to the Council, what are the rest of us going to be doing?" He asked Yagura. As he spoke, the others came into the hanger, all carrying packs on their shoulders, like the captain.

But it wasn't Yagura who answered him. "We're going to stop by our homes to drop off our things." Fū told him, hefting the pack she had on slightly to emphasize her point. "After that, it's free time until we leave again, but we'll mostly likely hit the Pit Stop."

"It'll probably be a little longer for the two of you to get there than the rest of us." He said to both her and Utakata with a small grin on his face. As it had turned out, his suspicions had been correct. Utakata and Fū were married to each other. Apparently, he had been the last one to have figured it out (which didn't bother him at all, he was glad to have found out).

"That is none of your business, Naruto." Utakata told the blonde with a small look of annoyance on his face. His wife had a similar look on her face as well.

"Hey, I'm just saying." He replied, holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture.

"Keep it up and we might just send the _Konoha_ crew your way." The Jinchūriki of Chōmei said with a slightly teasing tone her voice.

When he heard those words, Naruto's eyes instantly went flat and he lowered his hands. "That's not funny." He declared.

In response to his words, Fū was taken aback somewhat. "Sorry, I didn't mean…" She trailed off when the hanger door began to lower itself, filling the area with the sound.

"That'll be enough of that." Yagura told the two of them, his voice coming over the sound. "Just get your butts to your homes and relax a little."

"Um…where do I go?" Naruto asked his captain, a little uncertain. He didn't have a home in New Zion. He had just gone from one ship to another the last time he was here and that had happened really quickly.

"Just follow me, Naruto." Gaara told him, stepping up beside him. "I'll help you out." It was the least he could do for a friend.

"Thanks, Gaara." He said in reply, smiling at the redhead. When the hanger door was finally lowered, they all stepped out onto the dock. Having noticed something, Naruto looked back at the ship as they walked. "Hey, can the Bijū live on the ship without us around?"

"Yeah, they can." Zehn told him. "I'm not sure what part of the ship does that, but they can stay onboard the ship without their Jinchūriki nearby."

"Huh, you would've thought that they would say goodbye." He commented, turning his gaze back to where he was walking. While they were walking as a group, they were also trying to avoid running into anyone and anything else. The end result of that idea was them moving around a lot while still keep together as a group.

His comment, however, got the entire group's attention. "That's the last thing we need from them." Rōshi told him. "I'm pretty sure that people are still talking about the last time they decided to say goodbye." The man was both completely and obviously embarrassed about what he was talking about.

"Why? What did they do?" The blonde asked. He couldn't help it, he was curious now.

"They stood at the edge of the hanger door and loudly said goodbye." The older redhead answered as he sidestepped a dockworker who was hurrying to go someplace.

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"He neglected to mention the fact that, as a joke, they decided to be weepy and emotional, begging us to come back soon and if not, to write." Han explained, ducking in the process. Being the tallest of the crew (second place being taken by Bee), the man had to do a lot of ducking. "Everyone who was nearby heard them. A simple walk from the ship to our homes turned into a march of shame."

"If you're not dripping with rotten fruit juice by the end of it, it's not a march of shame." Naruto told the guy. He didn't like remembering the memory of the day of his exile, but it was moments like this when it just bubbled up to the surface.

Han just gave him a brief look before turning his attention back to where he was walking. "If you say so," He said.

"You do realize that with the Kyūbi onboard, they might be tempted to do it again." Yugito said; making it sound like it was an idle comment.

Everyone else took it as a dire warning. "Oh dear Kami, I hope not." Zehn prayed aloud. "I don't think I can take that kind of embarrassment again."

"Just do what I do, Zehn. Take it in stride and walk with pride." Naruto told him. "Once you do that, nothing will really embarrass you again."

"Do you speak from experience, Naruto?" Gaara asked with a small smirk on his face.

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "When you have to escape from a bathhouse once you've discovered that there are shinobi looking for you and the only to do that is to jump over the wall onto the main street and make your way to the inn you're staying at on the other side of town, you get used to it."

The others looked at him again. "You actually did that?" Fū demanded, finding it a little hard to believe.

"Yeah, I did. And believe me; I've done far more embarrassing things." He causally admitted before stopping to think about what he said. After a moment, he shuddered. "I just had a disturbing thought." He said after quickening his pace to catch back up.

"What's that?" Yagura asked him.

"Kurama had seen the stuff I've done and might be telling it all to the other Bijū." He answered. There were some things that still made feel him embarrassed (and a little ashamed). If the furball was telling it all to others, he was going to have a hard time not living it down.

But that wasn't the others were thinking, if the smirks on their faces were anything to go by. "In that case, we'll just have to pump them for information about what you've done." Fū told him with a big grin on her face.

"Good luck with that." He replied. "If my experience with a Bijū is anything to go by, you'll have a hard time getting anything useful of them." That was what he was hoping for, at least.

"Oh, trust us. We have ways of making them talk." Rōshi promised the blonde with a smile.

"That's just what we need on that ship, more than one Bijū drunk." Zehn said in a long suffering voice. "If any of you tries to go through that, I will lock you in your quarters with them inside." He threatened the rest of the crew.

"You'd have to admit, it would be funny." Yagura commented. It was enough to make the rest of them laugh, even their operator. Despite what they may say, a drunken Bijū was often a funny thing to listen to (they all knew that from watching Shukaku). They just had to make sure they did it in small portions (the Cooler could only do so much).

The laughter faded away as they left the docks and headed for the nearby elevators. There, everyone separated and went for different elevators. Naruto followed Gaara into one of them along with Han. Once the doors were closed, he felt the car shudder for a moment and then go down. It was silent in the car as it moved and then went still. "This is my stop." Han told both of them, walking out of the elevator.

Once he was gone, the doors closed and the car moved downward again. It would sometimes stop, letting people get on or off. Naruto tried not to get annoyed with all of that, but it was starting to get to him. "This is where we get off." Gaara finally told him when the elevator stopped again (he had lost count of the number of times it did that).

He didn't say anything in reply. He just followed the redhead out of the elevator and into the hallway beyond. Compared to the corridors in the _Outcast_, the hallways here were practically huge, big enough to allow two or three people to move through without bumping into any one. There also weren't a lot of people in the hallways. That might have something to do with it.

As they walked through the hallways, they walked across a bridge that was out in the open (as open as a place could get underground). Naruto stopped on the bridge when he saw what was there. "Dear Kami." He breathed out in wonder. He saw what he could only describe as an enormous apartment complex, stretching above and below him in a distance so far it almost felt like he couldn't see the bottom of it. He could see people above him and below him move around the walkways, entering and leaving homes. But what his attention was the giant tree that acted as the giant support column for the entire complex.

"Something to behold, isn't it?" Gaara asked him as he stood next to the blonde alongside the railing. The tree stretched to the top of the complex from the very bottom. Its branches reached out and touched the walls of the complex, just at the side of the walkways. It was obvious people had seen this, as stairs, tunnels, and paths had been carved into the tree itself, allowing for quicker ways to move around. He also knew that there was a playground near the bottom for children to play in.

"How is that possible?" He demanded, still staring at the tree. He could see people walking on the paths carved onto the tree, making it look like it was completely normal. It still didn't change the fact he was looking at the biggest tree he had ever seen. That was the only way he could describe its height and size.

"Well, there's a bit of a story to it. I'll explain it as we walk. Come on." His friend told him. As they left the bridge and kept on walking through the hallways and walkways, the redhead told the story. "It all started one time the Machines tried to destroy New Zion. They had managed to make it far enough to damage the air system for the housing areas. It was discovered only after the Machines had been driven back and even then they didn't have the materials to repair it. The entire city would suffocate once the air went out."

"That would've been bad." He commented. He had been suffocated a few times (both inside and out of the village) to somewhat know what it felt like. But he had a feeling that slowly suffocating was completely different thing then someone trying to suffocate you (the rate of losing the air would've been one of them).

"They knew that." Gaara said in agreement. "Everything seemed to be hopelessly bleak until the captain of the _Konoha_ tried something. Using his chakra and his Kekkei Genkai, he created a giant tree for each of the housing areas, allowing people to breathe once more. The rest of New Zion quickly took advantage of it, wiring what remained of the air system into the trees. And thus the city was saved."

"And let me guess, they hailed Hashirama Senju as a hero for doing that?" Naruto asked him. The blonde had learned enough of the village history to know that there was only one person who could create trees out of nothing but chakra (it also helped that Gaara had said captain of the _Konoha_, not a crewmember). And that person was the Shodaime Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

"It would seem like it, considering this place is named after him." He said offhandedly. The two of them stopped in front of what should've been a wall. Instead, the wall was missing and one of the many branches that sprouted from the giant tree. Where it touched the wall behind them was thin, it thickened the closer it got to the tree. People could either over it to keep walking forward or step onto it, holding onto the rails as they walked, and moved to the tree.

Gaara didn't even hesitate. He stepped up onto the branch and began walked down it. Naruto did hesitate for a moment (it made him a little nervous to walk on a tree without using his chakra, even if it was a tree big enough to render that method pointless), but soon followed his friend. "So, we can use our chakra here, in the real world?" He asked his redhead friend.

"No one has really tried it, and those who do usually end up unconscious for a day or more." The Kazekage answered. "There's just something in the real world that makes it much more difficult to use chakra."

"So basically, don't try it?"

"Not if you want to be out for a day or more." He replied as they finally stepped off of the branch of the tree. From there, they walked into the tunnel before them that led them to what could only be describe as a small central area (and the small was used to describe the height of the roof to the floor). People went into the tunnels or came out of them. And next to each tunnel was a small panel that showed what floor it would lead to and what houses were nearby. Off to the blonde's left was a staircase that led both upwards and downwards, shaped into a circular shape, taking up as little room as possible.

"You make it sound like being out for that long is a bad thing." Naruto told Gaara, still following him. "That's usually when things become very interesting."

His friend looked back at him. "I take it this is another thing that happened to you during your exile?" There was a tone of curiosity mixed with a tone of amusement as the redhead asked him the question.

"It wasn't frequent, but it did happen." He admitted. "There had been a few times I was kidnapped because a woman wanted to keep me all for her. It was a flattering thought, but I usually left after a day or so."

"Only a day?" asked the Kazekage with a raised eyebrow.

"I had to get free of my restraints and figure out the quickest way to get out of the place. That takes time." The blonde told him with a pointed expression. "The first time it happened to me, I tried to get out of there in a heartbeat and that got me thrown back into the bedroom with additional restraints. You would not believe how long the fox found that amusing." He had to put up with the damn furball's laughter for the better part of two weeks after that.

"Still, it would've only taken a good shinobi half a day to get out of a situation like that. You let yourself go soft, Naruto." Gaara said to him before freezing momentarily, silently cursing himself for saying such a thing. He shouldn't have said that, it implied that Naruto was still a shinobi, even though he had made a point of saying he wasn't anymore.

Thankfully, his friend didn't take it as an insult (or at least, he didn't make it sound like it). "You make it sound like I had given it up completely, Gaara." The blonde said to him. "But I still kept some things around. How do you think I did the second attempt to get out? And that one worked."

"Fair enough of a point." He conceded; glad to have not made his friend angry (least he hoped so). He stopped in a spot directly between two tunnels. "The free apartment is down that tunnel and mine is down that one." He pointed first to the left and then the right when he spoke.

"No need to show me where it is." Naruto assured him. "I think I can find it." There were a set of numbers etched into each panel, showing where one might be going. "I just need to know what apartment would be mine."

"It's number 1010." He told the blonde, still feeling a little unsure about just leaving him to find it. But he couldn't guide his friend every step of the way. He wasn't a baby or a child. "Mine is number 1028, just in case you need to ask me anything while we're in New Zion."

"Thanks." He strolled down into the left tunnel, leaving the redhead behind. As he walked through the tunnel (which was lit by lights installed into the walls), the confidence gait in his walk disappeared. Now, he walked as he had for the past six years, cautiously and ready to make a quick exit if he had to. He couldn't help walking like that. After six years, it had become a habit, one that usually showed up when he was going somewhere new.

He made his way through the tunnel, keeping to himself as he went. He didn't talk to anyone and no one tried to talk to him, silently understanding that he didn't want to be talked to. They kept to themselves and kept the traffic flowing. When he finally came out of the tunnel, he saw a staircase carved out from the tree branch in front of him. Not stopping for a moment, he began to climb the wooden steps, heading for where the branch ended. When the stairs ended and the path began again, he didn't change his pace.

But when the path on the tree reached the walkway he was looking for, he got down from the branch. He slowly went down the walkway, counting the doors to the apartments as he went. As he walked, he absently noticed that his feet had made a different sound when walking on the wood of the tree. There was no clanging noise (no matter how loud) and there wasn't an echo of his footstep when he walked on the wood.

There were a lot more doors then he had expected, but he still counted them. _"1007…1008…1009…and here we are at 1010."_ He silently declared as he stood in front of the door that led into the apartment. Without hesitation, he opened the door and walked inside. As he closed the door behind him (taking notice of how it could be opened and closed), he began to examine the room in front of him. He could instantly figure out that it was a kind of sitting room/ dinner table just the shape and size of the table and the number of chairs around it. The table itself was like a huge slab of metal that had character. He could tell it had character just by seeing the number of scratches and spots of rust it had. While he didn't have a problem with the scratches, he did wonder how long it would take to get the spots off.

The next room he looked at was adjacent to the main room and was also the bedroom. There wasn't much in the actual room. Most of the space in there was taken up by the bed itself. He reached down to test the bed with his finger, giving it a few touches and pushes. _"Well, it's not the worst I've slept on."_ He finally declared after removing his finger from the bed. _"But it's definitely not the best."_ It was probably no worse than the bed on the ship. It was just a manner of getting used to it.

The last room in the apartment (he wasn't counting the bathroom next to the bedroom as that was onlythe toilet) was the kitchen and it could barely be called that. There were a couple of cupboards and a counter, but that was it. _"I hope there's actual food in this city."_ He thought to himself as he looked through the cupboards and found nothing in them. _"That stuff on the ship might be edible, but you can never get used to it."_

Once he was done in the kitchen, he looked around the apartment once more. It wasn't much, he could admit that. But in time, he could make it his own. The entire notion intrigued him a little. He hadn't had a home in six years and even then, it wasn't really home. Just a place he went to at the end of the day and a place to hide from the villagers when their hatred for him was fueled by alcohol. But this place here…he could make it a home.

(Location: New Zion council room)

He stood in front of the Council elders. There was no one else with them, as the Council had decided that this should be a private meeting. "So, why did you have the guns be uploaded into the Matrix?" Tora asked the captain of the _Outcast_ with folded arms.

"I believed it to be a prudent choice at the time." He replied, keeping his voice controlled and formal. It was never a good idea to lose your temper in front of the Council (as Captain Tsunade knew quite well). "It would've given us an edge on the Agents and make getting to the hardline easier."

"Even though you have no idea who placed the information in the box in the first place?" asked Katana with a tone of curiosity in his voice.

"Yes, but that was why we spent the past month trying to find out who the deposit box belonged to." He promptly replied.

"And how did that go?" Mito asked him.

"…We found no concrete leads, inside or outside the Matrix." He admitted after a moment of silence. "We were preparing for a more direct approach when we got the summons to come back to New Zion."

"What exactly do you mean 'a more direct approach'?" Koharu asked him.

"I had been planning on taking my crew to visit the Oracle, to see if she knows who the deposit box belongs to." He had a hunch about the box itself and he wanted to be sure.

The Council elders looked at one another, sharing quiet whispers amongst themselves. Finally, they looked back at him. "When you were looking for answers inside the Matrix, how long were you or any of your crew in there?" Katana asked him.

He thought about the number of times he and/or any of his crew went into the Matrix and how long each time was. "Not long." He answered. "At best, one of us was inside the Matrix for half an hour and always near an exit."

"And that's all?" The Councilman asked him.

"Yes." He stood there silently before speaking again. "May I ask why you're interested in how long any member of my crew spent in the Matrix? That is not something the Council usually asks a captain about."

"Well, let me put it to you this way, Captain Yagura." Tora told him. "Because of your decision to upload the data on guns, you've somehow managed to fuck up the Matrix."

"Tora, I believe that we've talked about your use of language in front of ladies." Mother said to the man, looking at him with a frown on his face.

"What ladies?" He asked back with a grin, quickly ducking his head to avoid a smack upside the head from her.

Yagura ignored that. It was an old thing between the two Council elders, one that no one really called them out on anymore. It just showed that they were friends. He was more interested in what he had just heard. "I'm sorry, Councilman Tora. But I don't understand what you're saying. How could I fuck up the Matrix? How could _anyone_ fuck up the Matrix?" In all his years as a captain and as a redpill, he knew that the only thing that really changed in the Matrix was time. Everything else stayed the same.

"For some reason, ever since the data on guns was uploaded, the Matrix has been gradually changing." Katana told him, deciding to be the one who explained it to him. "Buildings began to grow taller than normal, roads and paths that were created by human feet or stone are now covered in concrete, and wooden buildings are suddenly replaced with made of stone and metal."

"Is this happening in just one place?" He asked.

"No, this is happening in every single country." Danzō told him, speaking before Katana could. "Also, towns seem to be springing up in places they weren't before."

"That's nothing to be worrying about." He protested slightly. He remembered listening to Rōshi and Hantalk about the last time the Machines tried to attack New Zion and the methods they used to stall the ships not in doc, causing the Shinobi World War. Whole towns would suddenly appear, only to be destroy in a matter of minutes in the real world (in the Matrix and at that time, it would've been a couple of days).

"It is when the towns are appearing seemingly next to one another." Katana replied, taking back the conversation. "They also looked incredibly similar to one another, so similar that we almost can't tell the difference between them."

"It almost looks like they're trying to form together, but not getting close enough." Mother told Yagura.

It sounded a little unnerving, he could admit that. All these sudden changes were not something the Matrix was supposed to do. "Is that all that's happening right now?" He asked the Council.

"As far as we know, yes," Homura told him. "But we don't know if there will be anything else that will change. So for now, we are warning every ship and its captain to be cautious now while in the Matrix.

"And we're reactivating the _Konoha_ and its crew. We'll need all hands on deck now." Danzō added. They all looked at the captain of the _Outcast_ once those words were said.

He just shrugged his shoulders. "So long as none of them try to kidnap a certain male blond from my crew, I won't have any problems with them." He told them all.

"Very good, but perhaps we should keep the two ships separated for now?" Katana suggested, looking at his fellow Council members to see if they agreed or not."

"You can try if you want to, Katana." Mito replied. "But I know my granddaughter and I know the crew of the _Konoha_. They won't let something like that stop them from at least trying to talk to Naruto."

"So long as blood doesn't fly, things will be fine." Tore declared. "And no will want to spill blood tonight."

"Tonight, sir?" asked Yagura, a little confused by what he had just said.

They all looked at him like he had more than a few IQ points. "It's the festival of the One, Captain Yagura. Have you forgotten about it?" Koharu asked him.

"Ah, yes. I apologize." He bowed his head. "I had been so busy looking for the owner of the deposit box; I had forgotten that the festival was approaching."

Homura smiled momentarily at those words. "Did you think we just called you back to New Zion so we could have your report on what happened?"

"Yes, the festival had completely slipped my mind." He answered.

"I don't understand why, you've been selected to say the speech this year."

"_That's why it slipped my mind."_ He silently thought to himself. He really didn't like making public speeches. He always felt tongue-tied when it came to that. Which was quite the irony.

(Location: Naruto)

He really didn't know what to do. He had tried to go down to the Pit Stop, only to stop and hide when he saw that about half of the _Konoha_ crew was in there, his former team among them. And if one half was there, he had a sinking suspicion that the other half could and would show up soon. So, not wanting to deal with them, he turned around and left, heading back to his new apartment.

At least that was the idea in the first place. But as soon as his feet started walking, a six year habit kicked in (he couldn't help it; he was in a new place, after all). He started to wonder around the city, his feet taking him to things he hadn't seen before. Then again, there was a lot of the real world he hadn't seen before.

So he took his time and wandered around, seeing what he could of the city. His feet took to quite a few places in New Zion. He found the small artificial gardens from where food was grown and harvested for the people in the city. He found the air systems from where the air given off from the trees were distributed to the rest of the city. He had even found the playground Gaara had been talking about and a few of the other ones as well. He wasted a few minutes at each just watching the kids play. To him, those minutes were well wasted.

But what he had found was most interesting. He probably never would've found it if he hadn't stopped to rest his feet (one of the many important things he had learned while wandering the Countries: always take the time to rest your feet). Once he had sat down and raised his head, his eyes instantly went to the open area in front of him. It was a small place if one looked from the outside. But once he went inside, he saw that notion was quite wrong.

It wasn't a big place in the definition of height but in length. Alongside the walls were small beds, barely enough room on for a single person. But most of those beds were full. Some of the people there had what looked like a black helmet over their heads while others did not. And the ones who did not have the helmet had been unplugged from the Matrix. But they all just lay on the beds, as if they were sleeping.

"Ah! Please, come in." Someone from the back called out to him. He looked at where the voice was coming from and saw a man with black dreadlocks walking towards him. He wasn't as young as Naruto was, as the grey hairs showed, but he still looked like he could take care of himself in a fight.

"What is this place?" He asked the man once they were in speaking distance and now shouting.

"Welcome to the Arcade." The man said, using the introduction as a way of explanation.

But that only told the blonde what the place was called. It didn't tell him what it did or what its purpose was. "What is this place for?" He asked, trying to be a little more specific.

"This place?" repeated the man as he looked around. "This is where people come to relax and play some games." It sounded like a simple explanation and probably would've satisfied most people.

But Naruto was not most people. "When you say games, are you talking about Shogi or Go?"

The man laughed a little. "Not like that, no. You can find those in homes in the apartment complexes. No, what we do here is virtual reality." He said that with some pride in his words.

"You're hacking into the Matrix from inside New Zion? Isn't that dangerous?" The blonde demanded. That was what he had just heard come out of the guy's mouth. Why would they risk something like this just so people could play a few games?

"Do you take me to be an idiot, young man?" The dreadlocked man demanded with a scowl, sweeping his gaze over the blonde's exposed sockets. "Just how long have you've been unplugged?"

"About two months, and I've barely spent any time in New Zion." He answered.

Once those words were spoken, the anger seemed to leave the man almost instantly. "Ah, then I apologize. Allow me to explain how the Arcade works. But first, names should be exchanged. People call me Switchboard." He offered a hand to shake.

"Naruto," The blonde took the hand and shook it firmly.

"Oh yes, I remember. You're the reason the _Konoha_ crew got grounded." The man he now knew as Switchboard said with a grin.

"So, anyway, how exactly are you using virtual reality without hacking into the Matrix?" He asked, moving the conversation on. He didn't like talking about the _Konoha_ crew, whether it was to them or about them.

The man seemed to understand that, as he started explaining. "Simply put, I have some simple programs taken from the Matrix, reverse engineer them, and then create new programs from what I've discovered."

It may have sounded simple enough, but Naruto was certain that there was more to it than that. Probably a lot more if hacking was involved. "Have you been doing this kind of thing long?" The blonde asked as he looked around.

"I started this back when the second captain of the _Konoha_ retired, with a small room and bed unit." He smiled. "As you can see, I've come quite a long way since then."

"Yeah, I can see that." They were in a big room filled with bed units after all. "So, what exactly do you have to offer?"

"Well, I'm afraid that I don't have anything that goes to the sexual side of things. So, if you're here for that…"

The blonde scowled almost instantly. "I didn't mean anything like that." Who did this guy think he was? Jiraiya? "Just give me something simple, basic."

"Alright, I can do simple." He turned around. "Follow me please." The blonde followed him to an empty bed. "Alright, lay down here."

Naruto did as instructed and laid down on the bed. It wasn't uncomfortable, nor was it comfortable. It was something to put your back on. "Now what am I supposed to do?" He asked the man standing over him.

"Just relax." Switchboard told him as he inserted the probe into the blonde's headjack. "Now, is there any kind of program you'd like to be in?"

He thought about it. This was the first time he was doing something like this, so he shouldn't go with something overly complicated. He wanted something simple, but there many simple things out there to choose from. He thought of the many simple things that he knew of. Finally, he chose to go with something he had been doing for the past six years. "Do you have any programs that are simply about walking?" He asked.

The man with dreadlocks frowned slightly when he heard that. "I think so, but I will have to double-check. Most people go for competition or combat-based programs." He started fussing with the machine just over the blonde's head.

"Well, I got enough of that earlier in my life." Naruto replied. "I just want something simple and relaxing."

"As you wish, just hold on…" Things fell silent between the two of them as Switchboard kept looking through what he had in the library of programs. As he said, most of the people who came into the Arcade wanted a competition or a combat program and he had plenty of those. There were others, but not a lot of them. "Okay, here's something. It's a road through a forest in the rain."

"I'll take it." The blonde told him instantly. That was the kind of thing he was looking for. Switchboard didn't say anything in reply. He just jacked the blonde in.

* * *

><p>Naruto found himself in exactly what Switchboard had told him: a road in a forest whist raining. It was the kind of rain that didn't pound onto a person or make them try to find shelter quickly. It was the kind of rain no one seemed to mind, a gentle rain that soothed the soul.<p>

He enjoyed it this kind of rain, feeling that it was one of the many reasons why he had kept wandering for six years. Taking his first step forward, he began walking down the path. One step became two, which became three, then four, and then five. After that, he stopped caring about how many steps he was taking and enjoyed the walk.

As he walked through the path, he heard thunder boom distantly overhead. Looking up, he saw that he was in no danger of being electrocuted. The thunder and lightning were a ways away. He could also tell that the program had set the day to mid-afternoon, which he felt was the perfect time to walk down a path like this. Other times of the day in the rain had their charms (which changed alongside the type of rain).

He looked at the surrounding forest as he walked. The rain created a mist-like vail through the trees. It made the trees that separated the path from the rest of the forest look like a barrier into a different land. It had an essence of beauty to it, in how it moved through the trees like it was following him, like a silent watcher. It also curled up around on the path in front of him, disappearing as he approached.

"_Kami, I've missed this kind of thing."_ The blonde thought to himself as he kept on walking. When he had been younger, he was always in a rush to get some place, always running whenever he could. When he had to walk, he walked like he was waiting for the chance to move faster. That was probably why he preferred to run through the trees then. It had been so much faster and he enjoyed immensely.

When he was exiled, he still acted like he was in a hurry. And he was, at the time. He had been so afraid that shinobi from the village would try to hunt him down. So he would run to the nearest place, whether it was a settlement, village, town, or a city, with all of his speed. Once he was there, he hid, fearful of the fact that Konohagakure shinobi would soon come. He kept that up for a year, always being on edge.

But once he began to force himself to calm down, he began to also slow down, to walk instead of run. And once he began to do that, he started to see all that he had missed in his rush to get to the destination. He learned to take pleasure in the journey itself, to take in the sights he would've raced past before. And what he was walking through right now was one of those sights. This was what he enjoyed seeing.

"Naruto," He heard a voice call for him through the air. He ignored it, wanting to keep enjoying his walk. "Naruto, I know you can hear me. Stop walking or I will have Switchboard put you in something that will make you very uncomfortable."

He took two more steps before finally stopping. Then he looked up at the sky, letting the rain wash over his face. "What do you want, Yugito?" He asked aloud, having recognized the voice of Matatabi's Jinchūriki.

"For you to jack out of there," Her voice answered back. "Everyone else is doing it and so should you. We need to go."

"Go where? I thought we were here for at least a couple of days." That was what he had heard the captain say a day before they had reached New Zion.

"We're not going back to the _Outcast_. We're heading to the temple for a celebration. Everyone is going." She told him.

Those words made him feel a little uneasy. "Um…I'm not that comfortable with celebrations." He said back. If he had a choice between a party and being tossed into a prison, he'd take the prison. Parties and celebrations didn't really appeal to him, they hadn't for three years.

"Tough shit," Yugito told him. "We're all going and that means you too."

"Alright, fine." He could hear the uncompromising tone in her voice and he had a feeling that he would be dragged out of the program by her if he tried to keep refusing.

* * *

><p>As he stood at the front of the caverns in the lowest level of New Zion, he looked at everyone else there. The place was packed, from front to back. There were people as far as he could see. The clothes that they wore were varied, but they all had pants on and wore no shoes. They looked towards the upper rocks, where the captains and Council members stood. He could see his captain standing up there and he knew he could see the captain of the <em>Konoha<em> up there, but he kept his gaze off of her. He wouldn't give her pleasure of letting her see him look at him.

"What is this all about, anyway?" He asked his nearest crewmate, who happened to be Utakata.

"This is the festival of the One." Saiken's Jinchūriki answered. He was one of the people who weren't wearing a shirt, displaying his chest for all to see. Fū stood by his side, showing to everyone who could see them that they were married.

"And who exactly is the One?"

"Just listen for the prayer and speech." Fū told him. "It should be quite a good one this year, the captain is doing it."

He was a little confused by what she was talking about. Thankfully, her husband saw the confusion in his eyes and explained. "Each year, one of the captains does the opening speech to start off the festival. This year, Captain Yagura is the one who's doing it."

"And he's good at it?" The blonde asked for clarification.

"He's one of the best, which is kinda funny, considering the fact that he doesn't really like doing public speeches." Fū told him with a small giggle escaping from her lips.

He just stared at his green-haired crewmate, trying to figure out if she was joking or not. A person who didn't like giving public speeches giving such speeches that people considered him to be one of the best? That was a contradiction if he had ever of heard of one.

As he kept examining the caverns and the people there, he began to pick out familiar people in the mass. His crewmates were nearby, that much he could see by himself. Temari was standing next to Shikamaru a little ways off. For once, the usual look of boredom wasn't on the Nara clan member's face. Anko and Iruka were standing close to them, both stripped down to their pants (Anko was wearing a bra) There were other crewmembers from the _Konoha_, but like their captain, he didn't try to look their way.

His wandering gaze stopped when he saw Katana step out for all to see. "People of New Zion, listen to my prayer." He called out for all to see. The whispers and murmurs that came with any large crowd disappeared when they heard him speak. He clasped his hands together and everyone (with the exception of Naruto) did the same. "Let us be thankful for this city, which protects us from those who would enslave us again. Let us be thankful for the men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect us from the Machines. Let us be welcoming to those who had been freed from the Matrix and see the world for what it is. And let us remember the One, for it was he who showed us that." He and everyone else bowed to a large statue in the middle of the caves. Naruto didn't have a good view from where he was, all he could see was it had a coat and a hood. Katana raised his head, unclasped his hands, and looked out to everyone there. "Now, I know you all don't want to hear talk, so I'll get right to it." He turned his head. "Captain Yagura, if you would."

Everything fell silent as the captain of the _Outcast_ took the Councilman's place. "400 years ago, a man broke free from the Matrix and freed the first of us as well. It was he who built this city from the ruins of another. And when it looked like we would be destroyed before we even began, it was he who brought peace between us and the Machines, a peace that lasted a century. When he died, his name was lost to us. But we still know him as the One." There a moment of silence as Yagura took a breath and continued. "When he died, the Oracle foretold that he would come again and when he did, the Matrix would end and the human race would be free. That is why we fight and that is why we wait. That is why, tonight, we remember the man who freed us. We are here to remember that even though the Machines have tried to destroy us for 300 years, we fight back because we remember what the One gave us. So, tonight, let those Machines hear us and remember, remember what they've failed to take what the One has given us! Let us make this very planet shudder with the very sound of our celebration! Let us remember and let us remind them of one simple fact given to us by the One: this is New Zion! AND WE ARE STILL HERE!" He roared out those last words and the cave roared with him.

Somewhere in the back of the caves, music began to play. It was a slow, rumbling, primal beat that began to get faster as it played. All around him, people began to dance in time to the music, going faster and faster just as the music did. And when a gong was struck, the music exploded and so did they.

Naruto could see that the people in the caves were enjoying themselves. It showed in how they dance with one another and with the whole mass (he even saw a few of them get tossed into the air). If he looked around, which he did, he could see that Utakata and Fū were dancing together and he could see the love they had for each other in the way they held one another as they danced. It looked like that in the chaos that was the dancing mass; they were in a space that belonged to only them. He could see the same thing with Temari and Shikamaru as well as Iruka and Anko.

But while they held onto one another and the rest of the people danced, Naruto held himself against a wall. This was why he didn't like going to these things. When he saw people like Utakata and Fū, a point of safety in a storm of chaos, he felt really alone. Ever since he became a loner, these kinds of things made him uncomfortable. When he saw the rest of the people dancing, he didn't want to join for fear of losing what sense he had. He had remain in control of himself during his exile to keep himself safe and now, he was being to tempt to let go, to say "Fuck it." and join the faceless horde in their primal dance. And he wasn't going to let himself lose control. He had to get out of the caves.

So he moved alongside the wall, trying to find a way out of the caves. He tried to keep himself out of sight as he moved. But there were some people who saw him. They tried to invite him into the dance, to lose himself in the chaos and enjoy it. He ignored them and kept moving along the wall, the feeling of rock against his back becoming a source of reality to him.

Finally, to what seemed to be the longest time to him, he managed to make his way from the front to the back where the exit was. Thankfully, none of his crewmates had seen him try to leave. Odds were they would've tried to stop him and make him enjoy it. _"I'm safe."_ He thought to himself as he went for the exit.

But that thought evaporated from his mind when he felt a hand grasp the back of his shirt. He turned around to see who it was and when he did, realized it was a mistake. It was Sakura who was holding onto his shirt. She wore a shirt and a pair of pants that hide nothing about her figure. It was then something else hit the blonde, something he hadn't realized on the _Konoha_. Sakura wasn't a child anymore. She had grown into a beauty of a woman, the kind that would make men stop and stare as she walked past. "Naruto, what are you doing?" She asked him. "Come, stay and enjoy yours—"

He whipped his body around to face her and smacked her hand away. The sound of that smack may have been lost in the sounds of celebrations but to the two of them, it was clear as a bell. Without a word said, he turned back around and left the caves quickly, with the echoes of the music, the dancing, and the sheer celebration following him. He wasn't sure if he was going to the ship or to his new apartment, he just wanted to get out of there,

The message was clear. _"Leave me alone."_ Unfortunately for him, neither she nor the other members of the _Konoha_ were going to give up on him. If they couldn't bring him back to the _Konoha_, they would try to be friends with him. And for Sakura, to tell him that she loved him.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you have sent me.

There were quite a few of you who wondered where the Council scene had gone to and wanted it back. So, I rewrote it to make it fit better. As you've probably noticed, I got rid of two of the Council elders. But I might bring them back with different names (and I stress the word _might_).

I realized that I was basing New Zion a little too much on Old Zion, so I made something different. That came in the form of the giant tree holding the apartment complexes and the Arcade.

The Arcade will be kinda like Naruto's escape for some time ahead, where he can go back to his wandering days for a brief time. The Arcade was inspired by that one part in Ghost's story in _Enter the Matrix_ where he spars against Trinity.

The change in the Matrix was intentional and I plan to explain that once they've discovered who the safety deposit box belongs to. And if there's anyone who has an idea of who that person is, by all means, tell me to see if you're right.

As for the One, Naruto will figure out more about the guy and will start to have suspicions about a few things. And the _Konoha_ crew will not be giving up anytime soon.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	9. Wandering and Wondering

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Matrix

Woken from exile

Chapter 8: Wandering and Wondering

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Bijū/machine talking"**

"_**Bijū/machine thinking"**_

Messages/Intercom/Transmissions

(Location: Naruto)

He had woken from his sleep fairly easy, which was no surprise to him. He got out of the bed and went out to the kitchen, only to find a small breakfast waiting for him. "And here I thought I was going to go looking for it." He said to himself. He leaned against the table and quickly ate the meal. Within a few short minutes, it was finished.

He dressed himself afterwards, but didn't know what to do for the rest of the day. He could've gone back to sleep but six years of exile told him that was a very bad idea (when he woke and ate a quick meal during those years, he always moved on afterwards). There wasn't really anything he could do while he and the rest of the crew were in New Zion. He, for lack of a better word, was about to be bored.

Which was probably why when his first idea of what to do that day came to him, he didn't immediately say no to it. He was up and out of the room before he even began to wonder if he should not go through with it. But he was bored and it felt like a good idea to see how Kurama was doing. He had been with that fox for all of his life, even more so in those six years. Sure, there were times where he felt the Kyūbi was actually trying to give him a migraine, but those never lasted long. And now, he was actually apart from the Bijū. It felt a little weird.

As he made his way down the tree holding the complex together, trying to find the elevators that would take him to the docks, he noticed that he was the only one who was out and about. _"Everyone must be completely worn out by that party last night."_ He thought to himself with a roll of his eyes. _"What a bunch of morons."_ If they left themselves unguarded, they could easily be killed.

But even as those thoughts crossed his mind, uncertainty followed them. The people could sleep easily because they felt safe here. He hadn't felt safe in six years and sometimes, he still didn't feel safe. He had kept moving through the Elemental Countries so he could stay hidden and alive. It was always something that was in the back of his head, making sure that he never stopped. That and the wanting to see what the rest of the Elemental Countries looked like.

He tried as best he could to keep his footsteps quiet as he walked down through the apartment complex, going through and down the tree as he went. There was nothing he could do about the sound of the elevator as it came to his floor. It sounded like an old engine that was still going strong. _"That's likely to wake a few people up."_ He silently commented to himself as he stepped into the car and the doors closed in front of him. He knew it would wake him up. He had once spent a week working in a factory and slept next door. Every time the machine started going in the middle of the night, he would wake up.

He stood in the car in silence as it went downward. There was a benefit to having the entire elevator to himself. There weren't any stops for somebody else. It would go straight to the level he wanted. He got to the docks faster than he had gotten to the complex. As he came out of the elevator, he could see that the docks were just as empty and silent as the complex had been. _"Thank Kami for that."_ He thought as he began to make his way over to the _Outcast_. He didn't want to try to explain why he was heading to the ship when there was no one else with him.

The hanger door was still open when he approached the _Outcast_ when all the hanger doors on the other ships were closed. Maybe it was because the captain forgot to close them, but Naruto was more incline to think that no one was dumb to try and steal a ship with nine Bijū who could (and would) drive them to insanity. He walked up into the ship, the sound of his feet hitting the metal seeming to echo all around him.

"Hello?" He called out to the ship as he walked down one of the corridor. "You guys awake?" He didn't get an answer back, which made the ship feel empty.

But it didn't feel like that for long. The Nibi came out of one of the rooms, yawning in the process. **"What the hell are you doing here, Naruto?"** She asked him, sounding sleepy and annoyed.

"**Yeah, it's far too early for you to be showing up like this."** Son agreed as he appeared out of another room, sounding just as sleepy and annoyed as Matatabi.

"What? I can't see how you guys are doing?" He asked the two of them.

"**That kind of question usually comes from the others when it's time to leave New Zion, not the day after we get here."** The Yonbi told him, making it sound like it was something completely obvious.

"Well, I'm here and I'm seeing how you guys are doing." He replied.

Just then, Shukaku came into view. The tanuki was wobbling as he stumbled down the corridor, frequently banging his head into the walls. **"Damn bunnies won't 'scape me thish time."** He muttered aloud as he went past them. **"I will have my…my…oh damn, I know this word. Hey, Son and Matatabi, what's the word I'm looking for?"**

"**I don't know, Shukaku."** Matatabi said with a straight face.

"**Maybe it went down the corridor?"** Son suggested with an innocent face that Naruto could instantly tell was a fake.

But it seemed to fool the tanuki. **"You're right, I'll go get it."** Shukaku declared. **"Come back here, you word!"** He disappeared from sight, increasing his pace as he left. It didn't seem to work for him, as the sound of him hitting the walls increased.

The two Bijū shared a look with one another and a grin. **"That never gets old."** The Nibi declared with delight in her voice.

"You guys torment Shukaku when he gets drunk?" Naruto asked as he looked down at the two of them with disbelief in his eyes and voice.

"**We only do it because he annoys us when he gets into the hyper phase of his drunkenness. Right now, he's only in his thumping phase."** Son said in protest.

The blonde frowned at those words. "He has a hyper phase and a thumping phase?" He repeated, trying to make sure that he heard right.

"**We'll get you the chart later."** Matatabi promised him.

"There's a chart?" He repeated again. Then he shook his head. "I'll deal with that later. You guys know where Kurama is?" He asked the two Bijū.

"**I think he's in your room."** The Nibi told him, frowning in concentration as she tried to remember where the fox was.

"**That's the last place I saw him."** The Yonbi said in agreement. **"But he looked rather annoyed and grumpy when I saw him."**

"That's okay, I can deal with him being grumpy and annoyed." Kami knows how many times he had to deal with that kind of attitude during those six years. It seemed like the Kyūbi got like that on a regular basis.

"**Well, good luck to you."**

"You make sound like I'm going to my death." He remarked as he stepped over them and continuing down the corridor. He didn't see any of the other Bijū as he made his way through the ship. _"They must still be asleep."_ He thought to himself. It seemed like Bijū were just lazy as humans were when it came to being safe and being asleep. He stopped in the middle of the corridor when that thought crossed his mind. _"Perhaps I'm being too critical of them."_ If he was, then that would make him seem very arrogant. And he tried to not be arrogant. He had met enough arrogant people in his travels; he didn't want to become one himself.

He started walking again and soon found himself in front of the door to his room. When he opened it, he was about to say something. But the words never left his mouth before he saw an orange blur leap up and latch itself onto his face. **"You complete and utter dumbass!"** Kurama roared as the two of them fell backwards onto the ground.

"Ow! Gah! Kurama, stop it!" Naruto tried to order the fox while also trying to get him off of his face. The Bijū was trying to punch, scratch, and bite his face off and he really needed his face. The fox was also repeatedly slapping him with his tails, which he couldn't fend off. And all he could see while trying fend the fox off was his orange fur.

"**Not until I've beaten some sense into your thick skull! Now hold still!"** The Kyūbi told him as he continued to pummel his Jinchūriki.

"Ah, watch where you're biting!" He tried telling Kurama, only to get a slap upside the head from one of the tails. "And stop hitting me!" With a great deal of effort, he managed to pry the Bijū from off his face and threw him back into the room. He went in himself and closed the door behind him, sitting down on the floor once the door was closed. Kurama tried to attack his face again, but he was ready this time and caught the fox. "What in the name of Kami was that all about?" He demanded as he held the Kyūbi by the scruff of his neck.

"**That was nothing less then what you deserved."** Kurama replied, still apparently angry with him.

"And what did I do to deserve that?" He probably preferred the times when the fox got mad and only gave him a headache rather than actually trying to tear his face off. No one ever actually what was happening with the former but the latter could spread like a forest fire. And he had seen how fast a fire can spread in a forest having been forced to set one off to get rid of a particularly stubborn group of shinobi (they must've been ANBU to have stayed on him for so long).

"**Why did you leave the party like that?"** The fox demanded.

It was a simple question and yet, Naruto knew that if he said the wrong thing, the Kyūbi was liable to explode in front of him. And if an exploding Kyūbi was loud in his head, he did not want to have the fox go off where everyone could hear him. "You know I don't like parties, Kurama." He finally answered.

The Bijū only scowled at the answer. **"I wasn't talking about that. I think that most parties are idiotic at the best of times."** He told the blonde. **"No, I'm talking about that little debacle with you and Sakura."**

"That was not a debacle, I just told her to leave me alone." He instantly protested. "And how do you know about it? You weren't there."

"**Gaara came by before going to sleep and told us all about it."**

He groaned at those words. "He saw it?" He couldn't help but ask. And here he had thought that he had gotten away safely.

"**Of course he saw it. If people hadn't been too busy shaking their asses, everyone would've seen it."** The fox remarked.

"Kami, thank you for making everyone shake their asses." Naruto said, looking up at the ceiling. He got a smack from one of the Kyūbi's tails in response. "Ow! I thought I asked you to stop that." He told the Bijū while rubbing the spot that was hit.

"**That was your chance to patch things up with her, kit."** Kurama told him with a frown on his face as he spoke. **"All you had to do was accept her offer."**

"And stay at a party? No thank you." He replied.

The fox groaned and rolled his eyes. **"That was your chance to change things with the Konoha Eleven, starting with her."**

The blonde scowled at those words. "And what if I don't want to change things with them?" He asked. "In case you forgot, they betrayed me." That got him another smack from a tail. "Ow! Would you stop that already?"

"**Not until you actually start thinking with some sense and not with your memories."** Kurama told him as he kept smacking the blonde with his tails. **"For Kami's sake, what happened was six years ago while you and the Konoha Eleven were still plugged in. Now you're unplugged and you have six years of maturity. This is a chance to wipe the slate clean and begin again."**

"It's hard to wipe away what etched into stone." He said back. They had turned their backs on him when he looked at them for help. Now they wanted him back so they go back to the way things used to be? He would've been more inclined to let the Akatsuki take him then allow that to happen.

The Kyūbi just snorted in derision at those words. **"Get out."**

"What?" He asked.

"**You heard me. Get out. You're not coming back in here until you've at least **_**tried**_** to extend a peace offering to them."**

"You can't order me to get out of here. This is my room!" He protested, gesturing widely at the room.

"**I can't I used the word 'maturity' with you."** Kurama muttered to himself, just loud enough for his Jinchūriki to hear. But before Naruto could say anything in response, he was getting smacked by the tails again. **"Out! Out! Get out!"**

"Ah! Ow! Ow, ow! Alright, alright, I'm leaving!" The blonde dropped the fox to the floor, got up, opened the door, and fled his own room.

The Kyūbi just watched as he fled. Once he couldn't hear the pounding footsteps, he turned around and leapt back up onto the bed. He tried to get comfortable enough to fall asleep, but that wasn't going to happen when the buzzing of wings filled the air. **"So, how'd it go?"** Chōmei asked as he landed on the bed.

The fox just shot him a look. **"How do you think it went?"** He asked back. **"And why is it that I always get stuck inside the people who are completely stubborn and need to a kick in the ass to change what they think?"**

"**Well in your case, I think it's more like a smack upside the head."** The kabutomushi said lightly in reply.

"**You know what I mean, Chōmei." **He snapped at the Nanabi. He wasn't in the mood for this kind of banter. He just wanted a straight answer.

Thankfully, he always got one. **"You get the stubborn people because you're stubborn yourself."** Chōmei told him. **"You're the kind of stubborn that would've driven any other kind of Jinchūriki to either killing themselves or trying to get you out. Plus, there's that whole menacing thing you do when they first meet you."**

"**That's just my way of seeing how they react."** And it usually worked for him, having done it to every single Jinchūriki he's had punched him on the nose and Naruto had demanded his chakra, calling it rent.

"**That's what I'm talking about. If your Jinchūriki wasn't stubborn, you wouldn't like them."** The Nanabi said. **"Of course, that means you have to smack their heads every once in a while."**

"**Yeah, but Naruto's being even more stubborn than usual on this one."** He grumbled. Usually his Jinchūriki was more agreeable. Sure, he was stubborn about some things and they argue about them. But Naruto had not budged on his opinion about the crew of the _Konoha_.

"**Can you blame him? They did banish him from the village and did tell him that they would kill him. I would say that's enough to make anyone weary of a village."**

"**He's going to have to work with the **_**Konoha**_** crew. It's going to be sooner rather than later, but it's going to happen. He needs to make up with them, not try and kill them when their backs are turned."**

"**You don't really think he would do that, would he?"** Chōmei asked, sounding doubtful about those words.

"**I wouldn't put it past him."** Kurama replied. If things kept going the same way they were going, Naruto would be pushed too far and he would probably try to kill them.

Just then, the two Bijū saw Shukaku stumble pass the door. **"Come back here you wordy bunnies."** The drunken tanuki cried as he kept running into the walls. **"I will get you, you and your words!" **

* * *

><p>"<em>Sheesh, talk about a grumpy fox."<em> Naruto thought to himself as he quietly left the docks and headed back to the elevators. _"Why can't he see the fact that nothing will change between me and them? They want to go back to the 'good old days', I'm not sure there were any good old days to begin with!"_ Nowadays, when he thought about it, those "good old days" had him slowly making people see what he was worth, only to have that stripped away when they exiled him. Another thing was that if they wanted to go back to the "good old days", they would have to be plugged back into the Matrix.

When he got back into the elevator car, he almost reached for the button that would take him back to the complex. But before he pressed the button, his fingers faltered and then stopped. Slowly, he looked down at the button that would take him down to the caverns. Finally, he pressed down on it. _"Why am I doing this?"_ He asked himself as he felt the car descend. But he had no answer.

He stood there in silence as the car went down to the caverns. When it stopped and the doors opened, he stepped out into the long hallway that led into the caverns. There wasn't really much that could describe the hallways, save that the light from the caverns seemed gentle and inviting, something that he hadn't really noticed before. But then again, he had been all but forced to come down here. He walked down the hallway, stopping at the end to take off his shoes. Once his feet were bare, he walked into the caverns and stopped to get an actual look at them.

Without the mass horde of people inside them, the caverns looked a lot bigger now. In fact, they seemed to stretch on and on, never quite stopping. The first actual thing that got the blonde's attention was the statue he could barely see the previous night. _"Might as well take a closer look,"_ He thought to himself as he started to walk to the statue, the sound of his feet walking upon on rock and stone filling the immense emptiness of the caverns.

Once he was close to the statue, he could see some actual details on it. The hood did not cover all of the face, all he could really see beneath the hood was a straight nose, a strong-looking jaw, and closed lips. _"Would I be able to tell more about it if I could see the eyes?"_ Naruto asked himself as he kept looking at the statue. He had heard once that the eyes were the windows to the soul. But then he realized that even if he could see the statue's eyes, there was no soul in it to try and look for.

His attention wandered away from the statueand over to where the instruments were stationed. They weren't placed that far away from the statue. In fact, they were in a good position to be heard throughout the entire caverns. The majority of the instruments were drums, but they weren't all the same kind. Some of them were bigger than he was and some of them were the same height as his waist.

"_These all probably don't give out the same sound."_ He thought as he walked into the circle created by the positioning of the drums. He slowly turned around whilst standing in place, so he could look at them all. He shook his head at that thought. _"Why am I'm even thinking that? Of course they don't give out the same sound."_ When he was done looking at the drums, his eyes wandered back over to the statue.

He didn't know why, but there was something about the statue that puzzled him. What puzzled him was who the statue was made of. He had heard about this "One" person before the party, having eavesdropped on Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru when he was still on the _Konoha_. They seemed to think that he was this "One" guy.

He snorted when he remembered their conversation. _"I'm the exile of Konohagakure and the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi."_ He mentally reminded himself. _"There's hardly anything else I could be." _He was by no means, a savior. That would imply that he would save everyone and anyone, which was most certainly not the case. But still, he kept looking at the statue, trying to find something there.

With a small grunt of effort, he tore his eyes off of the statue. _"You're going crazy, Naruto."_ He told himself. _"You're trying to find an answer to a question you hardly understand from a statue."_ Then again, he had probably done some weirder things during his years of exile, if the vague memories of those eight months were anything to go by (he shudder just by even briefly thinking about that. He really didn't want to remember).

Trying to distract himself from looking at the statue a third, he picked up a pair of nearby mallets and then walked over to the closest set of drums. He was curious to see how different the sounds would be, yet he didn't want to be over complicated about it, as a few musicians he had met during his wanderings were prone to do. So, he would just go with a simple beat and use it on each of the drums.

It worked well for him, even though a professional musician might have an opinion. But he wasn't a professional musician and he never planned to be. As he worked his way through the drums, the sounds that came from the beat ranged from the lightest of sounds, like small chimes ringing in the wind, to louder sounds, like a giant war drum pounding out a marching beat. All the sounds he heard were pleasing to his ear, but there was one set of sounds that he preferred.

It came from one of the middle-sized drums, with a sound that wasn't too soft or too hard. To him, it was perfectly balanced between the two. He went back to that set of drums and played the beat again, hearing it a second time to see how it felt. And he found that he liked it. _"Alright then, let's see if I can remember that beat."_

It was a beat he had learned from one of those musicians he had met on the road. They had traveled together for a time and the blonde had learned a few pieces of music. One of the pieces that he loved to play any chance he could get was a piece that started off simple but as it went on, became more and more improvisational. He had played the piece more time than he could count and every time he played it, it ended differently. But he hadn't played in two years, so he was probably a little more than rusty.

He started slow; hitting the drums at a pace he could easily keep control. _"Don't go overboard, start it slow."_ He reminded himself. If he went overboard at the beginning, he would lose control of the beat and end up making it sound horrible, having done that plenty of times when he first began playing it (thankfully, never in front of people).

So he kept it slow and steady, letting the sound of the beat fill the caverns and his ears. He closed his eyes so he could feel the beat better, as he had done many times before. Slowly, the pace and beat began to quicken. The sound reacted to what he was doing and his blood began to respond. He began to speed the beat even more, enjoying what it did to him.

What was happening was a contradiction, he knew that. He tried to keep control of himself and yet, as he played the drums, he allowed himself to loosen that control. He let himself go as he beat down on the drums, letting the piece of music flow out from him and into the drums. _"Good Kami am I loving this!"_ He shouted inside his own head as he kept on playing the music, feeling it come alive through his hands.

With a whoop, he brought the last note down onto the drums, filling the caverns with its final and fulfilling sound. As it faded away from existence, he realized that he had some amount of sweat beading down his forehead. He had forgotten that this kind of music playing was inclined to make a person exhausted and since he didn't go all out, he just got a minor sweat. But he loved doing it. _"Maybe next time, I should try being a part of the band."_ He mused to himself. The only problem he saw with that was he would have to stay for the party.

When he heard the sound of someone clapping from behind him, he went still. He had thought that he was alone in the caverns and the clapping caught him off guard. But when he turned around to see who it was clapping, his surprise quickly turned into annoyance. It was only one person, but that one person was Sakura. "That was impressive." She told him.

"It was just something I picked up." He told her shortly, obviously not wanting to talk to her. He was already looking for ways to get out of the caverns and away from her.

She must've seen what he was doing, because she stepped closer to him. "Who did you learn it from?" She asked him, sounding genuinely curious.

But he didn't believe to be real. He thought it was being faked. "What do you care?" He tried stepping out of the ring of drums. But he didn't get far.

She stepped closer to him again, stopping him from running out of there. "Can't I be curious about where you've been? We haven't really seen each other in six years, Naruto." She told him.

"And here I was trying to make sure we never met again." He replied curtly.

"Naruto, please, I just want to talk to you." There were many things she wanted to tell him, but she had to keep it to the basic things for now. Otherwise, he might run away and never even look at her or the others again. But she did wish at least one other of the Konoha Eleven was with her. It'd be easier on her.

He didn't want to talk to her. Hell, he didn't even want to be near her. What he wanted was for him and the Konoha Eleven to be like oil and water: don't mix at all. However, he remembered Kurama's threat quite clearly.

"_**You're not coming back in here until you've at least tried to extend a peace offering to them."**_

"_Fine, if it'll get her to leave me alone."_ He thought to himself, submitting himself to what was about to happen. "Then talk." He told her, looking directly at her face.

She was a little surprised by that. _"I thought that this would be a little harder."_ She thought to herself. "Well, how have you been?" She asked him with a little hesitation in her voice.

"Fine," He answered shortly.

"Has the _Outcast_ crew been treating you good?"

"Better than you guys ever did." His voice took a turn for the colder when he said those words.

She winced but kept subtle, not wanting to show him that she did wince. She realized that she had phrased the question he was a member of the _Konoha_ and was just on loan to the _Outcast_. But he had never considered himself to be a member of the _Konoha_. It was probably best to change the subject at that point in time. "So, where exactly did you go during those six years?"

"Wherever the road took me," He answered.

"That's not an actual answer, Naruto." She told him with a frown on her face.

"It's enough of an answer for you." The blonde told her. She just held his gaze without saying a word. The silence between the two of them went for a minute before he finally answered. "I wandered around the Elemental Countries, seeing what was there to be seen."

"It sounds like something fun to do." Sakura remarked, feeling a bit envious of him. When she had been plugged in, it was always one mission after another with no actual to stop and smell the roses. But he had more than enough time to smell them as well as anything else.

"It was." He admitted as a faraway smile and look appeared on his face. He was beginning to miss those days. Ah, who was he kidding? He already missed them. Right now, the closest thing he had to going back to those days was Switchboard and the Arcade. He missed the nomadic lifestyle now more than ever. _"Kami, what I would give to go back to that time."_ He thought to himself.

"You know, some of those roads led to the Land of Fire and Konohagakure." The kunoichi remarked after she thought about it. If the blonde had wandered, surely he would've gone through the Land of Fire.

But the faraway look disappeared when he heard those words. "Those were the roads I tended to avoid." He told her shortly. He began to try and find a way out of the caverns, away from her. As he did, he had thought he saw someone peeking out from behind a stalagmite. But before he could get a good look that someone disappeared.

"What? Did you think that there would be shinobi waiting for you at the border?" She asked with a small smirk on her face. Apparently, she found it to be funny.

"Yes." He answered, still looking around for an exit. He saw that someone peeking out again, only to disappear before he could actually see him.

"Sorry to bruise your ego there, Naruto. But not every shinobi from the village was out on the hunt for you. In fact, the majority of them forgot about you within a few years."

That had gotten his attention. "I seriously doubt that." He had been the Demon Brat after all. He was confident that they just pretended to forget him so that if they had found him, they could try to catch him unawares. _"Like it would ever be that easy for them."_ He thought to himself. "Also, if that's your way of making me feel better, you missed." He told her.

The smirk fell from her face when she heard those words. That actually had been her attempt to make him feel better. She didn't know why, but this was a lot harder than she thought it would be. She was usually much more confident about what she was saying to people. But with Naruto, it seemed like everything she said seemed to have the opposite effect on him. "Why don't we just get right to the heart of the matter here, Naruto?" She asked him, deciding to take a risk.

"By all means, go ahead." He challenged her, gesturing widely with his arms. This was something he had to hear.

"What exactly is your problem with us? It can't just be about the exile, can it?" It was probably a stupid thing to ask him, but this problem needed to be cleared up.

"It might've been, at first." He told her. "And you can't say I don't have the right to have a problem with that? Being exiled, stripped of a summoning contract that I had worked hard to make work, getting threatened with death if I ever encountered shinobi from the village, all because I did as I was ordered and brought Sasuke home, albeit a little roughed up."

"I think it's safe to say that it was a little more than 'roughed'." She commented. When Naruto had straggled back into the village with Sasuke on his shoulder, the two of them looked like they had been through hell and back at least twice, though Sasuke looked the more worse of the two. Having been the idiotic Fangirl she was back then, she instantly went to Sasuke's side and complete ignored Naruto.

The blonde in question scowled at her. "You wanted an answer, I'm giving you one." He said with a cold tone. "But it's not just the exile. We keep away from each other for six years, and then you guys just show up out of the blue, wake me up to a nightmare of a world, and expect everything to go back to the way things were before. Well, guess what, Sakura? There isn't any going back. We're not the same anymore."

"I agree." She replied.

"…What?" He asked after a moment of stunned silence. That had not been an answer he was expecting to hear from her.

"You're right, we're not like we were when we were twelve and it's incredibly selfish of us to think that it could be like that anymore." The kunoichi admitted. "But that doesn't mean we can't try to have a friendship now. Not a friendship based on who we used to be, but one based on who we are now."

He looked at her after she had said all that. "So who fed you those lines? Was it Shikamaru? Maybe it was Shino? Or it was possibly Hinata."

She scowled at him. If their friendship wasn't on the line, she would've smacked him. "Give me some credit, I can think for myself. It's like you said, I'm not twelve anymore." She told him with the faintest amounts of annoyance in her voice.

"…Fair enough." He finally conceded. She was right, she wasn't twelve anymore. Her ability to think wasn't hampered by her obsession for Sasuke.

"So what do you say? Can we start over?" She asked, holding out a hand to him. There was a small look of hope on her face as she waited for him to reply. It was obvious that she wanted him to take that hand and say yes.

But he didn't move a single finger. He looked at her intently, staring deep into her eyes _"They're an amazing shade of green."_ He silently admitted before realizing that he had just said that. _"Damn it, Naruto. Stay focused here."_ But she did have an amazing pair of eyes, even more so when she returned his look and held it.

"Well?" She asked him, wanting an answer from him.

He stayed silent. He knew it to be a loaded question. If he said and they began to rebuild their friendship, it would mean that the others would want to rebuild their friendships with him as well. And while that sounded like a good thing, odds are that there would be some of them who would want it to be like the old days and not even consider that those days are gone. _"What would it be like with Tsunade?"_ He asked himself as he thought it over. _"Would she let me go or would she try to get me back on the _Konoha_?"_ That was something he wasn't going to be money on. It could go either way.

"You haven't given me an answer, Naruto." Sakura said to him, clearly waiting for an answer. And she was either incredibly patient nowadays, or she had a longer fuse.

"You can't honestly expect me to answer that right from the first swing of the kunai." He replied, coming out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"You haven't." She told him with a small smile on her lips.

"…Alright, you have me there." The blonde admitted after a moment of silence. "But the fact remains the same. This isn't something I can't decide with a snap of my fingers."

"And why not?" asked the kunoichi as she lowered her hand and took a step forward again, getting into what he felt was his border of personal space. One more step and she would be all but nose-to-nose with him. And if that happened, those lips would be in perfect kissing range…

"_Kami take it, Naruto! Now is not the time to let your balls do the thinking! Get it together!"_ He mentally chastised himself. He had to stay in control. "You'll have to pardon me if I think that others won't be so keen start a new friendship when they think the old one is still perfectly fine." He told her.

"That may be, but they're not here right now. I am." She said to him. "And there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

He might've wondered what that was, if he didn't that person trying to hide behind the stalagmite again. "Hey!" He shouted to the person, surprising Sakura. "What are you doing back there!?"

"Who are you talking to, Naruto?" Sakura asked, turning to see what it was he saw. She saw the person as well. But the person saw them seeing him and decided to bolt. "Hey, get back here!" She shouted after the person, but he just kept running. Both she and Naruto went after him, leaving the caverns.

The man ran like his life depended on it and he ran fast. If he had been trying to flee from a regular human, he could've lost them. But he was trying to run from people who had been unplugged from the Matrix. They could easily keep pace with him. But his speed was quite surprising. _"He must've been unplugged from the Matrix."_ Naruto thought himself as he chased through the long hallway.

The fleeing man didn't go for the elevator. Instead, he veered off to the left, trying to find somewhere else to escape to. But he found none. That was the moment when he got tackled to the ground by Naruto. "Why were you watching us?" The blonde demanded as he kept the man pinned while flipping him over to his back, letting them see each other face-to-face.

The man tried to break free, but the blonde held him with an iron grip. During his struggles, a piece of his shirt got torn, partially revealing something tattooed over his heart. "What is that?" Sakura demanded as she reached to pull back the shirt.

"No!" The man screamed as he tried to get from her oncoming hand. But it did no good. She grabbed the torn hem of the shirt and pulled it back, revealing the rest of the tattoo.

Naruto had seen plenty of odd-looking tattoos on people in his years of wandering, so he wasn't immediately put off by what he saw. But it was still unsettling. It was a white rabbit with its head separated from its body, a few drops of blood between the two and each eye had an x over it. _"Well, that's an interesting choice."_ He silently commented.

But while he was observing the tattoo, Sakura had a look of disgust and fury on her face when she saw it. "A Cypherite, you're a Kami-forsaken Cypherite." She said to the man, who just spat at her face.

"Hey! You don't do that to a woman." Naruto told him, hitting him upside the head.

Sakura didn't him too. Instead, she just wiped the spittle off of her face. "Naruto, help get him up." She told the blonde. "We're taking him to the jail."

"Why are we doing that?" He asked her. So the guy had an odd tattoo on his heart. People got thrown into jail for something like that in New Zion? _"Then again, there was that one town in the Land of Earth that would toss someone in jail for sneezing too loudly."_

"Just help me, Naruto!" She snapped at him, having already grabbed one of the man's arms.

"Alright, alright," He replied, grabbing the other arm. Together, they hoisted the man up onto his feet and together, they frog-marched him to the elevator.

Just as the car arrived, the man turned his head to look at Naruto. "We can help you." He said to the blonde. "We can save you from this hell."

"What?" Naruto asked once he heard those words.

Before the man could say something again, Sakura interrupted him by burying her fist into his stomach. "Don't you dare try to poison him with your lies!" She said with a hiss.

* * *

><p>Within a space of a few hours, the man had been put into the jail. But that didn't mean Naruto's curiosity had been sated. If anything, it had been roused. That was why he found himself standing in front of the man's cell. "So, you're interested." The man said when he saw the blonde. He seemed rather confident, despite being inside the jail.<p>

"Interested?" Naruto repeated as he looked at the man. "It's more like confused. What were you talking about when you said that you could help me?"

"If you join our cause, then it will be possible for you to wake up from this nightmare of a world. All you have to do is forsake New Zion and join us."

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing in here?" Yagura asked as he appeared next to the blonde.

"I was looking for some clarification." He answered his captain, turning his head to look at him. He wouldn't be here for any other reason.

"You don't need to come here to find that. And you don't need to speak to the likes of him." The Jinchūriki of the Sanbi said as he looked at the man in the prison with the same disgust and fury Sakura had on her face.

"You know you want to be free of this place as well, Captain Yagura." The man said, smiling at him. "You've just been blinded by those pigs who call themselves elders."

"No, I'm here because of what we're fighting for."

"Why should we fight at all?" The man challenged lazily.

"Let's go already, Naruto." He told the blonde, already turning from the cell and walking away.

"Aye-aye, Captain." Naruto replied, turning around and following him. Neither of them said a word as they walked out of the prison, which was near the bottom of New Zion. But once they were out of that barely lit place, the blonde turned to look at his captain. "What exactly was he talking about in there, Captain? He said something about helping me."

"That man was a Cypherite and he thinks that because he's now inside New Zion, he'll be able to preach to more people." Yagura said before laughing a nasty little laugh. "But he'll be in for a surprise."

"Captain, what do you mean?" He asked.

"Those Cypherites always seem to think they will be here awhile once we throw them into the prison. They're usually dead within a day or so."

The blonde instantly realized what he meant. He was by no means a newcomer to people being killed. He had unfortunately seen enough of those to last him at least half a lifetime. But what was going to happen to that man was not what was on his mind. "What in the name of the Bijū is a Cypherite?" He demanded as they got into the nearby elevator.

As the car began to climb upwards, Yagura began to explain. "We don't know their exact origins. To us, they've always been around. But to be a Cypherite is to spit on everything that New Zion stands for." He threw a look at Naruto, who was about to open his mouth. "I'm about to tell what they are, so keep your trap shut."

"Keeping trap shut, Captain." The Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi said, closing his mouth.

"Good. As I was about to say, a Cypherite is someone who has been unplugged from the Matrix and wants to be plugged in again. In order to see that through, they've aligned themselves with the Machines."

If he had been six years younger, he probably would've shouted about how wrong that would be, that they must be out of their minds or something like that. But instead, he stayed silent and thought over what he had just heard. "…Are they really that desperate to escape reality?" He finally asked.

"It's always a mistake unplugging people who aren't strong enough to deal with what all of this." His captain answered him. "The problem is, we don't know if they are strong when we unplug them. It's one of the many risks we have to take when waking someone up to the real world."

"And has any one of…us fallen to taking that offer?" He wondered aloud. Because he would be a dense idiot if he didn't think what that man in the cell had offered was tempting. It was a chance to go back into the Matrix permanently and take up what he had been doing for the last six years. And it was a very tempting offer.

Yagura shook his head in the negative. "No, and that's something the crew of the _Outcast_ can be proud of. Not one crewmember of that ship has ever betrayed New Zion to become a Cypherite."

"But the other ships have had people do that?"

"Have you ever heard of Madara Uchiha?"

"Who hasn't? He's a legend in the Matrix" The man was infamous as a shinobi, having founded Konoha alongside Hashirama Senju only to leave and try to destroy it.

"He's also a legend in the real world." His captain told him. "He's one of the more infamous people to have betrayed New Zion and become a Cypherite."

"Oh." It was the only thing he could really say about that. _"I guess every ship except the _Outcast_ will have one."_ He thought to himself as the car came to a stop. "So, are we leaving again?" He asked as they stepped out of the elevator.

"Are you that eager to get away from the crew of the _Konoha_?" Yagura asked him as they walked down a corridor.

"Would you make me stay if I said yes?" He asked back.

"Naruto, we need all hands on deck every time we leave. We can't afford to leave someone behind just because he said something that I or someone else might not agree with. We'd deal with that when we're on the ship and, quite frankly, that's for the Bijū to take care of."

"When you say that, do you that they'll drive us crazy until we finally hash out what we would be disagreeing on?"

"You hit it on the nail. I'm surprised you figured it out so fast." The captain said with genuine surprise in his voice.

The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "My only constant companion was Kurama. You would not believe the kind of arguments we would get into on the road." In hindsight, some of those arguments seemed really redundant and stupid. But then again, there were times when there was nothing else to do. Who the hell would actually argue about what kind of pigeon could carry how much weight?

Yagura smiled at those words. "Oh, I think I could." He and Isobu had a few similar times. "But to answer your question, we may be leaving at the end of the day. Odds are the Council will want us to find out how the Cypherites are getting orders."

"And if we do find out, we're also to disrupt and/or destroy it?" Naruto summarized as they left the corridor behind and ended up in one of the central areas of New Zion. They just stood at the edge, watching as everyone else walked around, going where they needed to go. Most of them were a little sluggish as they walked, showing that they hadn't completely recovered from last night's party.

"That would be the plan. The catch is that we'll have another ship helping us do that." He watched the blonde carefully when he said those words.

"Ok. We'd probably need help if Cypherites can hack into the Matrix just like we can." And if they could hack in, they could bend the rules as well. That alone could cause a lot of headaches for everyone.

"The ship that'll most likely be available to help us is the _Konoha_." He finished, still watching the blonde. This time, there was a reaction. Naruto's eyes widened briefly and then hardened. It was a brief thing, but it was there. "Is it going to be a problem with you?"

"No, Captain, it won't." Naruto answered. If they were going to work with the _Konoha_ and its crew, he could be civil to them. It would be hard, but he could be civil.

"Good. I or someone I send will let you know when it is time to go. Until then, stay out of trouble and try to keep away from the _Konoha_ crew." His captain ordered him.

"Aye-aye, sir, provided they stay away from me." He replied. If they did that, things would be fine for now. He turned to look back at the rest of New Zion as Yagura walk away from him. He watched in silence as they all went on with the life they had managed to carve out for themselves.

A cynical man would've called what they've done useless. A hopeful man might see something that they were striving for. But him, he just watched them as they went on. It wasn't a perfect life, but there was no such thing. Just like the good old days. _"Her offer is a little appealing."_ He told himself, his thoughts wandering to what Sakura had offered. If he took it, things would be different for him and the Konoha Eleven.

But if he was being honest with himself, there was a part of him who didn't want things to be different, who wanted things to be the same. And there was another part of him that was calling the first part moronic and stupid. He was not really a person who nursed his grunges, yet he had kept the one he had with them going for six years and didn't really want to let it go.

It was a war about whether or not he should take her offer and all the uncertainty that would come with it. And it was all raging inside his head and his head was beginning to hurt from all the what-ifs and the could-haves. _"I need to stop thinking about it."_ He thought to himself, turning away from the edge. _"I need to get to the Arcade and escape reality."_ It would a long few hours later that he realized that he had just wished for what the Cypherite had offered.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me. And here I never thought this story would get past a hundred reviews.

There's probably a lot of ways I could take Shukaku and what happens when he gets drunk. If any of you have ideas, let me know.

Of course Naruto would be conflicted about Sakura's offer. Here's a girl who, the last time he really saw her, was a Fangirl who all but ignored him when they were younger. Now, she's actually talking to him like he's a person and offering him the chance to start over. If that doesn't make anyone unsure of things to come, they must be dense.

The Cypherites do actually exist in the Matrix universe, having appeared in the Online game. As for their origins, do you really need to ask? Just take a look at the name and you'll know it.

I'll see you all next chapter!


	10. The Past and the Present

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Matrix

Woken from exile

Chapter 9: The Past and the Present

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Bijū/machine talking"**

"_**Bijū/machine thinking"**_

Messages/Intercom/Transmissions

(Location: Sakura)

The _Konoha_ flew through the tunnels, in a different section from the _Outcast_. The idea there was so that if they were attacked, they weren't attacked together. It was practical. It was logical. And it kept the crew of the _Konoha_ away from the _Outcast_ and, by extension, Naruto. Apparently, the elders still didn't think they wouldn't try anything.

That thought was on everyone's minds as the ship flew, even those who were off-duty. _"What would we have done?"_ Sakura asked herself as she lay back on her bed, a frown on her face. _"It wasn't like we could've snuck on the _Outcast _and snatched him away while he slept. We wouldn't have made it past the Bijū."_

Once she and the others had been unplugged, they learned about how the Bijū seemed to drive their Jinchūriki up the walls of their ship. But it wasn't meant to drive them into insanity. It was all done just to get a laugh apparently. She had heard that the crew of the _Outcast_ used to trick people into coming aboard to see how long they could last before running out of there. And while she didn't want to go through that herself, she could think of a few people she wanted to go through (not seriously, of course).

But despite what she had heard of the Bijū, she did not have an opinion of them herself. The reasoning for that was twofold: the first was she had never met them herself and the second was that she could remember how she treated Naruto.

Just the thought of her treatment of the blonde made her want to reach back in time and strangle her younger self. What the hell had she been thinking back then!? She should've seen the signs a lot earlier. But she had been a Sasuke Fangirl and at that time in her life, that had been all that mattered to her.

To her when she was a Fangirl, Naruto had just been an annoying idiot who she had to punch when he got too annoyed or perverted for her. But for her, too annoying had been when he got in the way of Sasuke and too perverted hadn't been the most accurate of terms. She went for his head at the smallest thing that seemed perverted.

All of that had lessened over the time she had spent with him and Sasuke, seeing him less of an annoying idiot and more of someone she could care for. But then she utterly botched it. She had asked him to break back Sasuke and he did, albeit in a bad way. When she saw the state Sasuke had been in and the way people had started talking about him, her Fangirl had flared up and she hated the blonde for what he had done to her Sasuke.

It was after Naruto had been exiled and Sasuke had been able to walk that the figural (and in her case, the literal) bucket of cold water had been dropped on her, hard. As she stared up at the ceiling, she could remember that day.

(Flashback)

It had been more than half a year since Naruto had been exiled and the village seemed to be quite happy to be rid of him. She was happy too, happy to be glad of the annoying idiot. But she was going to be honest, she missed him a little. She didn't know why, but she did. Maybe it was because she felt guilty for yelling at him like that at his trial. He did deserve it, though. He didn't have to break Sasuke's legs to bring him back.

"Hey, Sakura," Ino said in greeting to her as she sat down next to her on the bench. Today was a bit of a rare day for them, as Tsunade let them have a day off from their training (Shizune had found out she had been skipping the paperwork and had locked her in the Hokage's office with Tonton to keep watch).

"Hey, Ino," She said back. They didn't really say much, they just watched the crowds of people go by. Even though they say it, they were thinking the same thoughts. They thought that there was something wrong with what they saw, but they didn't know what it was. They kept these thoughts silent for fear of being accused of having lost their minds.

But even as they just watched, trying to use their shinobi training to find out what was wrong; they couldn't take the silence anymore. This was their day off, Kami take it. They were supposed to be relaxing. "So, how long do you think it will take Lady Tsunade to finish the paperwork?" Ino asked her friend.

"It would depend on how well a watch Tonton can keep a watch." She answered after thinking it over. She wasn't exactly sure why her sensei feared the pig, but Shizune knew it and used it like a weapon. And if she was honest, it was funny to see the Godaime Hokage cast a fearful eye on an innocent-looking pig.

"So within a couple of hours?" asked the heir to the Yamanaka clan with a small smile on her face. She knew just as well as her friend how scared Tsunade was of Tonton when she kept watch.

"If the stack of paperwork is low," Sakura replied. But given the way Shizune had been berating Tsunade, it was more than likely that the paperwork stack was not low at all. If anything, it probably reached the ceiling.

They both giggled at the thought of the Hokage being stuck in her office surrounded by mountains of paperwork. It was an amusing thought, even more so when they remembered that their sensei could literally invoked hell on earth during training. "You think we should try to sneak in and see how she's doing?" Ino suggested.

She shook her head. "I'm not one to tempt fate." If they went in there and were caught, there was a very good chance they would not come out alive.

Just then, a loud and large group of girls came charging down the street, knocking down anyone who wasn't quick enough to get out of their way. The peaceful late morning was interrupted by their shouts of joy as they stampeded passed. For a moment, there was nothing but silence in the street.

"What the hell was that all about!?" One of the people on the street shouted as the stampede faded away into the distance.

"I think that the Uchiha kid is finally coming out of the hospital." Someone else said for everyone there to hear.

There was a cheer from the street when they heard that. "It's about damn time too." One of the men at the market stands. "That damn demon brat should've gotten something a lot worse than exile for what he did! Breaking a shinobi's legs? He was lucky that the Uchiha was able to recover!"

Both Sakura and Ino knew that it wasn't luck that Sasuke had been able to recover. Whatever happened during his fight with Naruto, the blonde had enough sense to break his legs in such a way that he could recover. But that wasn't the thing that was on their minds. When they had heard Sasuke had recovered, they shared a look with one another and then took off after the stampede.

While the stampede of Fangirls had a good distance on them, it was mainly composed of civilian girls. But they were kunoichi and they knew how to think smarter. Sasuke will know that since he's getting out, the Fangirls will know and would crowd the front of the hospital, waiting for him to come out. So instead, he will take to the rooftops to get away from the hospital, hoping to leave silently. And since they were the only kunoichi who actually knew where Sasuke lived, they knew what route he would take to get home.

And that was where they found him, on the seventh rooftop away from the hospital. "Hey, Sasuke," Ino said to him, openly flirting with him.

He frowned at her. "How did you know where I was going?" He demanded.

"Come on, Sasuke. We know where you live." Sakura told him, smiling at him as she stood next to Ino.

He wasn't impressed. "That was a closely guard secret for a reason, Sakura." He said to her with the frown deepening on his face. "I had thought that you would've kept it when I showed it to you and Naruto."

Even though the smile disappeared when she frowned back at him, it returned quickly. "I know that. I only told Ino where it was and made her swear on her honor as a kunoichi to never speak of it." She knew why it had been a secret. It was a fear that Itachi would come back and kill his little brother, so they moved him out of the Uchiha compound and into an apartment known only to a few.

"That doesn't help."

"Hey, I know how to keep a promise, especially when I swear it." Ino protested, realizing that she was being insulted.

"Yeah, now," He retorted with an accusing glare. It didn't really work as his body was wobbling slightly, showing how unused he had gotten to his legs.

She winced slightly at those words. They stung and there was no way she could rebuke them. They were the truth. If she had found out where Sasuke had lived during the Academy years, she would've bragged loudly to the other girls about it, just to show how she had an edge over them. Thank Kami Asuma-sensei had the decency to beat that out of her. "Yes, now." She replied.

But he didn't really pay attention to her. Instead, he focused more on Sakura. "I need to talk to you, alone." He told her.

She must've lit up when he said those words because Ino looked dejected and annoyed, throwing glares her way. But at that moment, she didn't care. "Okay, Sasuke." She said with a grin plastered on her face. Ino tried to stifle a growl but didn't do it very well. It was audible enough for the people in the building below them to hear.

Neither of them paid attention to her. Instead, they leapt away to a different rooftop and them down to an alley. She tried not to go as fast as they were used to because she knew that Sasuke was still getting used to his legs again. It might've taken them a little longer than usual, but they got there all the same.

"So, what do you want to talk about, Sasuke?" Sakura asked him as they stood in the alley. It was washed in shadows casted from the late morning sun. There wasn't just one type of shadow, there were multiple shades of shadows, some lighter than others and some darker. She probably could've waxed poetry about the different shadows she saw, if she had been that kind of person.

"Actually, it's more along the lines of I talk and you listen." He told her bluntly.

"Oh…okay. What do you want to say?" She asked him again, the smile on her face fading slightly. Something told her that he wasn't going to confess to her here today.

"I'm never going to date you or be your boyfriend." He declared with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. He was sick and tired of all this crap with her. It was going to end right now.

And like a sledgehammer smashing through glass, her illusions were shattered. "Wha…what did you say, Sasuke?" She asked, like she hadn't heard what he had just said. Either that or she heard it and didn't want to believe it.

"You heard me, Sakura. Whatever you think is going to happen between the two of us isn't. Just give up on it and get over it." His voice was curt and blunt. "I don't want someone who would be completely useless to be by my side."

"I'm not useless." She tried to protest. But it came out weak.

"I said that I was talking and you were listening." He reminded her with a snap in his voice, scowling at her. "You say that you're not useless, yet what exactly are your skills as a kunoichi? The ones you've actually mastered, not the ones you read or are learning?" She didn't say anything in response, allowing him to continue. "There is nothing there. You have nothing to offer me. I don't want someone like that. Don't ever come after me like that again, and I expect you to pass that onto Ino and the rest of the Fangirls."

He turned his back on her and leapt back up to the roof, intent on heading. Sakura just stood there in the shadows of the alley. What she had just heard repeated itself over and over and over again in her head. He had just destroyed all of her dreams and called her worthless. She wasn't that worthless. She was actually training now, taking what she was seriously. But no matter how much she tried to convince herself of that, his words still echoed in her head.

"_There is nothing there. You have nothing to offer me."_

"_There is nothing there. You have nothing to offer me."_

"_There is nothing there. You have nothing to offer me."_

"_There is nothing there. You have nothing to offer me."_

"_Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"_ She screamed inside her own head. _"STOP IT! JUST STOP!"_ Tears began to well up in her eyes. Just then, someone had thrown a bucket of cold water out a window overhead, drenching her in freezing water.

She stood there in the alley, completely soaked, and all the while, Sasuke's words repeated themselves and the tears finally fell. _"I need to go home."_ She told herself, trying to walk steadily out of the alley (with some success). Once she was back on the street, she started to make her way home, hoping that she didn't run into Ino or any of the other Fangirls.

(End Flashback)

In hindsight, what Sasuke had said to her was much needed. After the smashing of her so-called dreams, she began to focus more on her training. Tsunade was much more impressed with what she was doing then before and pushed her even harder, turning her into a very good kunoichi. And there had been a time when she hated Sasuke for what he had told her, but they had managed to talk things over when he wasn't so annoyed and they had managed to forgive each other.

But even after all that, she thought so little of Naruto, only giving the odd thought about him as the days went on. He had seemed to be a part of her past and she had been content to let him stay there. That is, until…

The door being pounded on brought her out of her musings. She stood up from her bed and went over to the door, opening it. Jiraiya stood on the other side, looking down on her. "We're almost there." He told her. "You're going in."

She had assumed that she would be one of the ones who would stay onboard the ship during this entire mission. "Why?" She couldn't help but asked him.

He just stared at her with an amused look in his eyes. "I just told you that you're joining a mission that, if successful, is most likely to going to go down in the records and all you can ask me is 'why?'"

She nodded her head. "I had assumed that, since we're working with the _Outcast_ on this one, I would be sitting this one out." She explained. It was well known that the _Outcast_ put all its crewmembers to work on a mission instead of rotating in shifts like the _Konoha_ and some of the other ships did. If the _Outcast_ was using all of its crew that meant Naruto was going in too. Hence, why she thought she or the rest of the Konoha Eleven weren't going in.

The amusement in his eyes traveled down to his lips, stretching them into somewhere between a smirk and grin. "And here I thought Tsunade already told you about assuming."

She couldn't help but feel embarrassed by that. She already could feel her cheeks beginning to heat up from that. _"Not the time for that!"_ She mentally chastised herself. If it was getting close to mission time, she had to remain on point. "I'll follow you." She told the Toad Sage.

"Then follow me." He turned back around and walked down the corridor, his feet echoing off the metal of the ship.

She closed the door to her room and went after him. As they silently walked through the interior of the ship, Sakura quietly stared at his back. Even though he was an outright pervert (having even claimed to be a Super Pervert with pride), Jiraiya was a man who could catch you off guard and tell you truths that you probably needed to hear. She could attest to that and she silently thanked him every day for it.

(Flashback)

She got out of the chair and winced at the amount of information that had been crammed into her head just then. At the thought of her head, she couldn't help but reach up and touch it. It was slowly growing, but her hair was there. _"Thank you for letting it grow again, Kami."_ She silently prayed. She stopped for a moment, to wonder if Kami actually existed here, or if that was just something else that belonged to the Matrix.

It had been a few weeks since she and the other members of the Konoha Eleven had been unplugged from the Matrix. Since they had been unplugged, they had spent every day in training. But there were only a set amount of seats on the _Konoha_ (the Captain had made a passing comment of "Needing to get a few more"), so they had to take turns in learning what needed to be learned.

"Sakura, with me," Jiraiya called out to her as she was about to leave with Hinata and Tenten (her training partners for the day).

She turned to look at the man who was called the Toad Sage in the Matrix. Despite having been her student (which she wasn't sure of now, considering all that had happened), she didn't really know Tsunade's teammate, except for the obvious things that had been told around the village. And going by those things, she didn't understand why the women in the baths or the hot springs just rained jutsus down on him when they found him peeking. That's what she would've done.

She opened her mouth to ask why, only to get a look from the captain. The look blatantly told her to not say anything that would disagree with what he wanted and to go with him now. She closed her mouth for a second and then opened it again. "Coming, sir," She told him, starting right after him as he left the broadcast room.

"Heh, she was about to say something she was going to regret, wasn't she?" Orochimaru asked aloud as she followed Jiraiya. The fact that Orochimaru had never actually been a traitor to Konohagakure never really like it could hold water. But the captain and Jiraiya didn't treat him like a traitor. They treated him like he was a comrade and a friend. It still unnerved her to be around him.

"Why do you think I warned her to not say anything?" Tsunade asked him back from where she stood next to the computers, having watched the entire training session.

"Was that what that was? And here I thought it was just a look."

"You lived this long and you still don't know anything about women, Orochimaru?" She just shook her head in despair. "You're completely hopeless."

"Well, considering I had to help him with his first time…" Jiraiya began as he reached the door.

Orochimaru went pale (well, paler) at those words. "You swore to never talk about that again!" He hissed at the Toad Sage.

The man just turned around and smiled an evil smile. "Yes, in the village. But we're not in the village right now, are we? Perhaps it's time we finally told the story about why the red light district was renamed in your honor."

"Not when I'm around, you aren't." The captain declared. "I've already lived through that night once. I have no desire to go back and relive it."

"Are you sure?" He asked her, turning the evil smile on her and widening it into a smirk. "Not even the part involving the pole, the market sale, and the outfit that was about two sizes too small?"

"Jiraiya, I'm warning you." She said with a growl in her voice. In the Matrix, that was the growl for "If you value your continued existence, you will stop talking about the current subject and quietly leave room." Sakura liked to call it the warning to take option Duck and Cover (D and C for short).

But Jiraiya wasn't fazed by the growl. Instead, he just laughed and waved it off, leaving the broadcast room as he did. Sakura quickly followed after him, never forgetting that she was supposed to follow him. They made quick time down to the cafeteria, which was empty. _"That's a little odd."_ She thought to herself. The place usually had or two people in its cramped area. But there was no one there except for them.

"Sit down." Jiraiya told her as he sat down at one end of the table. The laughter in his voice had disappeared, making him look and sound completely different. It made him look like he earned the title of Toad Sage.

When she saw this small and subtle transformation, Sakura felt a bad feeling race through her gut. _"I'm not going to like what's about to happen, am I?"_ She asked herself as she sat down. "What is it you want, Lord Jiraiya?"

"Cut the 'Lord' crap." He told her bluntly. "I was never a lord, here or in the Matrix. I swear, if I ever find the person who started all that…" He grumbled to himself, looking displeased all the while.

She just looked at him with a confused look. "Uh…sir, what did you want to talk about?" She dared to ask after a few seconds of his grumbling. She found it to be odd that he would complain if someone called him a lord.

His grumbling stopped and he looked at her. "I want to talk about you." He said. "I had heard that you finally gave up on the Uchiha after he shattered your little fantasies."

"You wanted to talk about that? Good Kami, it happened a long time ago." She said with a laugh. And here she thought she wasn't going to like what was going to be said.

"Kid, you only get to use the phrase 'a long time ago' when you're my age. And that's not the only thing I want to talk to you about." He told her, still looking quite serious. There wasn't any chastisement in his voice, but he didn't share in her laughter either.

She stopped laughing and looked at him. "Then what is it you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about you and your interactions with Naruto."

She couldn't help but frown when she heard those words. "Why do you want to bring something that's been dead for the past three years?" She asked.

His eyes flashed with fury at those words. "The gaki isn't dead." He stated with a snarl in his voice.

The kunoichi flinched back when she heard the fury there. "I didn't mean it like that!" She immediately protested.

"Then what exactly did you mean?" He asked her, the threatening snarl turning into a warning growl as the words left his mouth. All of a sudden, the cafeteria felt entirely too small for the two of them.

She knew what he was doing, having been on the receiving end of it by Tsunade. But while the Captain's was akin to a raging fire, the Toad Sage's was more like a blazing torch, smaller but no less hotter and directed straight at her. She took a deep breath to steady herself from his stare and then spoke. "I was talking about my relationship with him."

"Good, because that is what I wanted to talk to you about," He replied, the growl disappearing from his voice. "It's high time somebody addressed that stupidity you had about the two of you."

This time, it was her eyes that flashed with fury. "And what exactly was stupid about the way I treated him?" She demanded.

Jiraiya wasn't impressed with the snarl in her voice or the fury that shone in her eyes. "How about the fact that every time the two of you were together, he was been beaten for almost no reason at all?"

"There was a reason for that! He was either being stupid, perverted, or just outright annoying." She declared. She could remember each and every one of those moments with perfect clarity. And each time, she had a justified reason for doing what she did to the dumb blonde.

But apparently, the Toad Sage didn't seem to think of it like that. "Is that what you think? From what I've read, you punched him for the hell of it."

She shook her head. "No, I always a legitimate reason for what happened." Naruto might've been a perverted idiot, but she never struck him unreasonably. That was something she could be and was proud of.

But again, Jiraiya didn't think of it like that. "You mean like the time he got just a little too close to you and you delivered a roundhouse kick to his head?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. From the way he spoke, it was obvious that he had done his research well.

"I thought that he was trying to sneak in to cop a feel. What was I supposed to do, just let him?" She asked back. And it wasn't like she did anything too damaging to him. He had bounced back from the kick within seconds.

"How about asking him what he was doing? Because from what I've read, from both Kakashi's and Naruto's report, there had been a poisonous snake in the grass near your feet, which you hadn't seen. Naruto had stepped closer to you and reached down without looking was because he was trying to get rid of it without you panicking. You're just lucky that the snake had been scared off by your screaming and kicking Naruto."

She stopped herself from speaking again and began to think over what he had just said. It was true that she was no great fan of snakes or toads (snakes a little more than toads) and she probably would've freaked out if she had felt a snake start to coil up her leg. And if the snake had been poisonous, that would've made her freak out even more. So if Naruto really was trying to get rid of the snake without her noticing, her reason for kicking him suddenly vanished. _"Now I feel like crap for doing that to him."_ She thought to herself.

Jiraiya must've seen that feeling on her face, because he pounced. "And what about that time when he tried giving you a hug and you gave him a right cross to the jaw?"

"Hey, I had been having a bad day that day!" She instantly protested. "Besides, he got right back up, apologized, and left me alone." She hadn't seen him for the rest of the day, which suited her just fine.

"And how much should I bet that if Sasuke had been the one who tried to give you a hug, he wouldn't have gotten punched?" There was nothing in his voice that showed that he was angry or disappointed with what he was hearing from her. But that didn't stop her from thinking that he was.

Even she was, now that she had actually thought about it. Naruto had known that she was having a bad day and wanted to comfort her with a hug. He must've known that she would punch him, but he went ahead and tried to give her one anyway. "What kind of person would do something like that even if he knows the outcome?" She asked, realizing too late she had said those words aloud.

"The kind-hearted and selfless person," He told her. "And that is exactly the kind of person Naruto is." In his voice, there was something that said that was final and there was no way around it.

"Well, then why did you have him exiled if he was all that?" She demanded, trying to steer this conversation in a different direction. She and the rest of the Konoha Eleven had been told about the plan to exile soon after they had been unplugged and moving around. Reactions to hearing that plan had been mixed. Some had been grateful, some hadn't cared. She was in the latter camp.

And it turned out to be the wrong thing to ask the Toad Sage, as he got angry. "Just because I agreed to go along with the plan doesn't mean I approved of it. Do you think we actually wanted to exile him from the village? There was no other way to protect the gaki. Trust me, if there had been one, we would've taken it." He told her, that growl coming back into his voice.

She lurched back in her chair, away from that growl. But now that she began thinking about what he said, her perfectly clear memories didn't seem so clear anymore. She began to wonder if there was a good reason to whether Naruto did the things he done or not. Did she just strike him without control? _"Had I truly been that selfish of a person?"_ She asked herself.

"I think I've made my point." Jiraiya said, standing up from his chair. He left the cafeteria, leaving a confused kunoichi in there, trying to figure out if she had been wrong all that time. She was right about one thing, thought. She hadn't liked what she had heard.

(End Flashback)

That state of confusion had plagued her for the rest of the training period the ship went through. Every night, she would lie in her bed, unable to actually sleep, thinking about every single time she had punished Naruto for something either stupid or perverted (and now that she thought about it, never once did the blonde do something that was both stupid and perverted. It was either one or the other). She wondered if things had been as cut and dried as she thought them to be.

She could never give herself a good answer to those wonderings. All she could really think of was each and every time she had struck Naruto. Only, now she looked at them with doubt on her mind. She couldn't help but wonder if there had been something she felt for the blonde, only that she was too blinded by her supposed love for Sasuke and then by her own annoyance at the blonde. She could never figure why, until…

"Attention to Sakura Haruno." Jiraiya said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "What's got you stuck in la-la land?"

"Sorry about that, Jiraiya." She apologized. She knew why he asked that question. It was rare for her to let her mind wander off like that. She was usually the one who stayed on point. "I was just thinking about that one conversation you and I had."

"You're going to need to be a little more specific, Sakura." He told her as they rounded a corner. "We've had a lot of conversations." There were days when you were off-duty and there was nothing to do but have conversations. And sometimes, those conversations took a turn for the odd.

"It was the first one we actually had." She answered. "You know…about Naruto."

If things weren't so urgent, he might've stopped in his tracks and looked at her. Instead, he just started climbing up the stairs in front of them. "Ah…that one," He said.

"Yeah, that one," She agreed. "…Have I ever thanked you for that?"

"Not that I'm aware of. You just went off and had that mental debate with yourself for the better part of two weeks."

"Oh, right. In that case, thank you for helping me open my eyes." It had been something that she had needed at the time.

"You're welcome, kid." He said, getting off the stairs and heading down to the door that would lead into the broadcast room. She followed him as he opened the door and walked in.

Looking at the broadcast room held no more surprises for her. It looked exactly the same as when she had been unplugged. It always looked like there were enough chairs for everyone onboard the ship, but you would know better once you counted them. They were short by at least four. There was also the other door to the broadcast room, one that led to the other side of the ship. The broadcast room was the center of the ship in a way and it was often used to get from one place to another.

"Good, you're here." Tsunade said from where she stood by the computers, watching as their Operator, a woman who called herself Circuit, typed in the necessary codes. Circuit was a new addition to the ship, having been assigned after they had been cleared again. It would be beneficial to them as their last Operator had been killed when they were trying to escape a Sentinel ambush, more than six months ago. They had been all silently grateful that Shikamaru had been paying attention to what the Operator was saying in order to man the computers.

"Yeah, we're here." Jiraiya said, walking over to her. Once he was at the computers, Circuit opened up a communication channel. "_Outcast_, this is _Konoha_, do you read?" The Toad Sage asked. While he spoke, the few other people inside the room paid attention. Those people were Iruka, Anko, Asuma, Sasuke, and Shikamaru.

"This is _Outcast_, we read you, _Konoha_." The voice of the _Outcast's_ Operator answered back.

"We are in position. Are you?"

"That we are." The voice of the _Outcast's_ captain replied. "We're clear in this section. What about you?"

He looked over at Circuit, who gave him a nod. "We are." He answered.

"Good. The Council elders told us that the imprisoned Cypherite soon gave up the information that we wanted. There is a location in the Matrix where the Cypherites get their orders."

"Where is it?"

"It's on your home turf, right in the middle of Konohagakure."

There was a moment of silence inside the _Konoha_ broadcast room as everyone there looked at everyone else. "…I'm guessing you're not sending in Naruto, are you?" Jiraiya asked once he could find his voice again.

"We'll have him on standby. Everyone else is going in." The captain of the _Outcast_ replied. He made it sound like nothing was wrong. "We're getting ready to set up. We'll meet up with your group inside the Matrix."

"Acknowledged, _Konoha_ out," Jiraiya closed the channel and looked around the broadcast room, seeing that everyone (with the exception of Circuit and Tsunade) was looking at him. "Well, get moving people." He told them. "We need to get set up too."

They took that as the order it was. They moved to the chairs and began to strap themselves. Both Tsunade and Jiraiya helped finish the preparations. Absently noticing that Sasuke was on her left and Anko was on her right, Sakura winced slightly as her headjack had the plug placed in. _"Damn, that still feels weird after all this time."_ She thought to herself.

Within complete silence, Circuit hit the necessary keystrokes and jacked them in.

(Location: The _Outcast_)

Naruto stood by Zehn's side, watching the computers show the team process. When it had been discovered that the place they were looking for was in Konohagakure, it hadn't been him who decided to stay out of it. Rather, it had been Yagura. That wasn't to say he didn't like the captain for making a choice that should've been his. It was the opposite. He was glad he didn't have to back out by himself, lest he and the rest of the crew get into an argument about whether he was going or not.

But now, he was just watching. The Bijū were also watching, looking up at the screens. Kurama had a prime viewing seat from atop the blonde's head. "They're meeting up with the _Konoha_ team." Zehn said as they kept watching.

"**We can see that, Zehn. We're not blind."** Kurama told the Operator with a voice heavily laced with sarcasm.

"Just making sure you knew." He replied without taking his eyes off of the screen.

"Don't even think about it, Kurama." Naruto warned the Bijū atop his head.

"**I wasn't going to do anything."** The fox protested.

"You were thinking it, that's enough to make me stop you."

"**You're no fun."**

"You know very well that I'm tons of fun, just not when things are serious." When things were serious, that was the time to pay attention.

"**But that's when things are most fun."**

"**Not now, Kurama."** Gyūki told him with an authoritative voice. It was obvious that he was trying to order the Kyūbi, but it didn't work due to the fact that he was on the floor.

"**Oh, shut up, ya stupid bull!"** He told the Hachibi, looking down at him. That remark made Naruto reach up, grab the fox by a couple of his tails, and throw him across the length of the broadcast room, right at the wall. **"OW!"** He exclaimed when he finally hit the wall.

"That was uncalled for, fox." The blonde told him, continuing to watch the screens.

"**You used to be a lot more easygoing. And you stole that move from Gaara."** He complied as he made his way back over to the computers, rubbing his head as he went. Once there, he hopped right back up onto Naruto's head. The blonde didn't do anything to stop him from settling comfortably on his hair.

"Whoa, what's going on?" Zehn asked aloud as he looked at screens holding the Matrix. It was obvious that he saw something in the raining code. And when he found what he was looking for, his eyes went wide. "Oh no," He whispered.

"What? What's going on?" Naruto asked him. The blonde couldn't read the code as well, so he had to rely on what the Operator was seeing.

But he was already trying to contact the team inside. "Captain, back out!" He ordered once contact was made. "You and the _Konoha_ team are walking into an ambush!"

The two of them weren't sure if Scarface had gotten the message or not because at that moment, the code screens to quicken with activity. Parts of the code started to speed up while other parts began to slow down. And while that was happening, the map of Konoha that was on a different screen showed that the _Outcast_ and the _Konoha_ teams were already trying to make their way back to their exits. There was something that seemed to be chasing them, but whether it was Cypherites or Agents, Naruto couldn't tell.

That was when one of the code screens went dead. "Uh…Zehn, is it supposed to do that?" The blonde asked the Operator.

When Zehn saw the dead screen, he instantly contacted the team. "They cut the hardline! Get out of there!" He practically shouted.

"**Oh, this is not good."** Saiken stated.

"**Ya think?!"** Shukaku replied, agitated.

"**Not now, you two."** Chōmei said to the two of them while he floated in the air, getting a good look at the screens. **"Zehn, is there another exit for them?" **He asked the Operator.

"Of course there is. There are a lot of them." Zehn replied. "But I can't try to get any of them online while the teams are being chased; they're liable to get cut. I'd need some way to get the chasers distracted before I even attempt to ready another exit."

"**So, we're stuck, is that it?"** Kokuō asked him. **"What about another team from the **_**Konoha**_**? If they get in and create a distraction, the others can get out."**

"That would just leave the extraction team stuck inside. We would waste more manpower trying to get them out and someone is liable to end up dead."

"**Someone is already liable to end up dead and it could be one of ours!"** Isobu all but shouted at the Operator. **"Do something!"**

"Shouting at me isn't going to help me, Isobu!" He shouted back. He was trying to think of a way to get them out of there but nothing was coming to mind. A successful plan of distraction was elusive to him at that point.

But while he was thinking, so was Naruto. "Zehn, open a channel to the _Konoha_." He finally told the Operator. He needed to know something. Zehn gave him an odd look but opened the channel anyway.

"We already know the problem, Zehn! We're trying to figure out a way to get them out safely. Do you have any ideas?" Tsunade's voice rang out through the screen, showing her impatience and worry for all to hear.

"Only a few and they're vague at best." Zehn answered. "But I think Naruto might have one." He looked over at the blonde, silently giving him the opportunity to speak.

"Has the general layout of Konohagakure changed since I was gone?" Naruto asked, being all business.

"Naruto?" asked the captain of the _Konoha_, surprised to hear his voice. "What are you—?"

"Has the general layout changed since I was gone?" He repeated his question, interrupting her question. He needed an answer and he needed it right away. The small stuff could wait.

"No, they haven't. They've stayed pretty much the same." The answer came back.

"How much is 'pretty much'?" He needed the details. One wrong assumption and what he was planning would be fucked.

"Maybe one or two streets might've changed courses. That's about it."

"Alright, then I'll have to avoid those streets. Are you getting a rescue team ready?"

"Of course we are." She replied, completely offended by his thought that they hadn't.

"Then make sure they go straight for the teams and get them out safely. I'll take care of the distraction." He signaled Zehn to cut the channel and turned for the chairs, going straight for his own.

"What are you planning?" The Operator of the _Outcast_ asked him as he got out of his seat and went after the blonde.

"I'm going in, make a ruckus, and ensure that the others get out alive." He answered as he strapped himself into his own chair.

"And how exactly are you planning to do that?"

"By doing something loud, attention-grabbing, and completely obnoxious," He answered as he laid his head back against the chair.

"**In other words, something that is completely you,"** Kurama said in reply with a smirk on his face.

"You know it." And he was looking forward to it.

Zehn didn't say anything else as he plugged the blonde. But once he was back at the computers and was prepared to jack him in, there was one last question. "So, any particular place I should drop you at?"

"Just put me close to the tallest structure in the center of the village. I'll take care of the rest." He told the Operator.

"You got it." With that said, Zehn jacked him in.

* * *

><p>He found himself standing at a corner of three-way junction of streets. His hood was up over his head and he felt the familiar weight of his staves on his back. There was also the familiar weight of the two Desert Eagles hanging down from his shoulders. After using them the first time, he had gotten used to using them in combat. "How far away am I?" He immediately asked through the wireless radio around his neck.<p>

"You're about two streets away due north-west." Zehn's voice answered back.

That was all he needed to hear. He got off the corner and went in the direction he was told. The street that led in that direction was moderately crowded, so he was able to keep moving through the holes in the street's path.

The place still looked the same after all these years. He knew this street and the rest of them very well. In fact the only thing that was different about the place was how it was all tinted with different shades of green. One would think he'd be used to the green by now. But it all still looked rather weird to him on some level.

What amazed him was the fact that the people all looked slightly distracted, like something had their attention and was preventing them from seeing what was in front of their faces. And once he thought about it, he must've had that same kind of expression while he had still been plugged into the Matrix. _"That's a disturbing fact."_ He thought to himself.

He was glad for the deception the cloak gave him. With the hood over his head and covering most of his face, people really took a look at him. Sure, they gave him a second glance, but it was mostly because he looked like a stranger and there were plenty of those in the village, all looking to hire a shinobi for a mission. There was an unspoken rule about the strangers, one that everyone in the village obeyed: you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone.

And he was using that rule for all it was worth. He didn't want anyone to recognize him for who he was until he was in the proper position. Since he was on a limited time span, he had to hurry but without making it obvious that he was in a hurry. Unfortunately, some people didn't see it like that. "Will you hurry up?" Zehn hissed in his ear.

"I'm getting there!" He replied in return with a hiss. "By the way, do you think there's a possibility they can run past here? It'll help."

"Ugh, I don't know. I'll see what I can do. Just hurry it up already." The line went dead as the Operator of the _Outcast_ cut it.

"I'm going as fast as I can here." He muttered to himself. He couldn't just outright run down the street. He had to stay out of sight until the proper moment.

That moment was now mere moments away once he stood before what he was looking for. It was a pole that held up the power lines of the village and it was the tallest structure there because it was the almost center of the village's power lines. Without single step of hesitation, he leapt onto the side of the pole and began running up to the top. Once there, he kept himself balanced and waited. He didn't have to wait long. "Here they come." Zehn warned him.

He could already see the commotion in the street below him. People were getting out of the way of the team, lest they get knocked over. The teams were being chased by the Cypherites, who looked like ordinary civilians of the village, which he had suspected they had done when the ambush happened. That worked in his favor. _"And here we go."_ He thought to himself as he took a deep breath and lowered his hood.

From all across the village, and especially in the center, people could hear his voice bellow out. "ATTENTION PEOPLE OF KONOHAGAKURE! THIS IS NARUTO UZUMAKI SPEAKING!" They all looked up to see where the voice was coming from and their eyes widened in shock when they saw him. He might've looked older, but they recognized him all the same. "THAT'S RIGHT; I'M BACK IN THE VILLAGE! AND I'VE GOT ONLY ONE THING TO SAY TO YOU LOT!" He raised both hands and flipped everyone off. "KISS MY ASS, YOU BUNCH OF HYPOCRITICAL COWARDS!"

To his immense pleasure, everything in the village had virtually stopped at his words. Even the team and the Cypherites had stopped to look at him. The silence lasted a good long minute, and then the dam broke.

"It's the demon brat!"

"He's come back!"

"He's not allowed to come back! He was exiled!"

"Does that mean we can't touch him?"

"No, it means that if he shows his face, we can kill him!"

"You think so?"

"Of course I do!"

"We really get to kill the demon brat?"

"Yes, we do!"

"Then what are we standing around here for? Let's kill him!"

"Yeah, kill the monster!"

"Kill the brat!"

"Kill the brat!"

"Kill the brat!"

"Kill the brat!"

"KILL THE DEMON BRAT!"

"**Ah, the stupidity of humans,"** Kurama said inside Cloak's head, sounding like he was reminiscing about an old and fond memory. **"It never gets old, does it?"**

"_You're the one who's been around a lot longer than I have,"_ Cloak replied as he looked down at the quickly forming mob, who were chanting "Kill the demon brat!" or "Kill the monster!" or any variation of those two.

"**Are you calling me old?"** The fox demanded in a fake outraged voice.

"_What are you, a woman?"_ He asked back in a fake annoyed voice. He kept looking down at the mass. _"Man, there are a lot of them, isn't there?"_

"**You're the one who told them to kiss your ass."** Kurama told him pointedly, dropping the fact that he was supposed to be insulted. **"I would say that would be like setting up wood for a bonfire."**

"_Great, that means I still have to light the fire."_ Well, he knew the perfect way to do it. Amidst all the chanting to kill him (they had been chanting that and they still didn't make a move to get him down from there? Civilians.), he leapt into the air and then fell to the ground. And he made sure he landed right on top of one of the Cypherites. The man fell to the ground with a gasp of surprise and he ended looking right at Cherry.

"Naruto…" She began to say in a whisper.

"It's Cloak." He cut her off, using the same level of whisper. "And get ready to run." He stood up and looked at the mob all around him. "IF YOU WANT TO KILL ME, COME GET ME!" He shouted for all to hear. Then he took off, leaping over the heads of the mob (and even walking on some heads) to get away.

Once again, there was silence, and then the dam broke again.

"Where did the brat go?"

"I don't know!"

"He went that way!"

"Are you sure?"

"I saw him go that way too!"

"Let's go after him!"

"Yeah, it's time to finally kill the demon!"

"Kill the demon!"

"Kill the demon!"

"KILL THE DEMON!"

And with that, the fire was lit. The entire mob charged after him, literally filling the air with the sound of thundering feet. The team had been wise enough to get out of the way before they started but the Cypherites hadn't and got swept along with the mob. The last thing they saw of the Cypherites was a look of annoyance and hatred. Within a matter of moments, the mob had disappeared and the street was empty. "…Well, that was…something?" Persian finally said.

"Are you kidding? That was awesome!" Emerald replied, sounding a little excited. "I wish I could've done something like that to my home village."

"In any case, we've got a free path to an exit." Teacher told them all. "Circuit, please tell us that you have one ready." He asked the Operator of the _Konoha_ through the wireless.

"Yeah, I do." She replied. "It's an old store on 5th & Oak Street."

"Good, I know the place." He took his hand of the wireless and looked at everyone else. "Let's get a move on."

"Hey, is it safe to leave him like that?" Watcher asked, looking at where the mob had disappeared to.

Cherry tried to repress the snort that came out with mixed results, making everyone look at her. "When he was still with the village and after he had helped bring back the Hokage, Naruto had boasted once during training that he knew the entire village like Cyclops knows Icha-Icha." She told them.

"Fully prepared to make others feel uncomfortable when the book's in hand and use it like a weapon?" Little Snake asked, remembering the few times she had seen the man do that.

Raven smirked at that. "No, like the back of his hand," He told her, remembering that training session. Neither he nor Cherry had believed him when he had said that. But, he was hoping now that the blonde could back that claim up.

(Location: Cloak)

He was running at full speed to keep away from the mob. Or, at least what was full speed for them. He could easily run faster and get away from them. But he had to keep the attention on him and not on the team. So he kept running and the mob kept chasing. He took a look back to see if they were still there and they were. _"Huh, shouldn't the torches and pitchforks have come out by now?"_ He asked himself as he turned his attention back to the path he was running.

"**Seriously?"** asked Kurama. **"You're wondering about clichés now."**

"_I can't help it. I read enough bad books on our travels to be corrupted by the clichés. They're everywhere I look to see. I'll even bet you money that someone will cry out 'kill the monster' in about five seconds."_

5…4…3…2…1…"Kill the monster!"

"_See?"_

"**I didn't agree to that bet."** The fox remarked in complete deadpan. **"And you might want to consider making a right here."**

"_I knew that already."_ He replied as he pivoted in mid-step and turned to the right, running into an alley. _"Out of the two of us, who was the one who spent a good portion of his childhood doing something like this?"_

"**The last time I checked, that was not something to be proud of. And you didn't get away from those mobs sometimes, remember?"**

"_Of course I remember. Why do you think I'm giving them good sport?"_ If there was one thing his childhood had taught him, it was how to put the distance between him and the mob.

That was how he had made this chase go on for so long. If he had counted the time right, this grand chase had been going on for the better part of an hour. He had always stayed ahead of the mob, but he always let them see him so they could keep going. The Cypherites were still with the mob, yet they weren't at the forefront. So that must've meant that they were hanging back and keeping an eye. That was fine with him, so long as they stayed with him.

If he had been a civilian and not a former shinobi, his legs would've been howling in pain by now. But all he had was a slight tiredness that could easily be ignored. The sound of his feet slapping the ground as he ran and the thundering of the mob began to sound musical to him. When he took a step, the mob would do the same and the sound would echo down through it. It would've been interesting to hear, if he wasn't running for his life and the lives in the team.

"**You think it's time you called it off?"** Kurama asked him after another fifteen minutes of running through the streets, backstreets, and alleys.

"_You think that they've gotten out by now?"_ He asked back as he grabbed a pole to swing into a turn, taking him into an alley that had a wall at the end of it. The mob took the same turn and when they saw the wall, there was a small cheer of victory. They thought they had trapped him. They couldn't be more wrong.

"**Are you kidding? I bet that by now, they're all piled up against the screens either cheering you on or wondering why the hell you haven't gotten out yet."** The Kyūbi said with a roll of his eyes.

"_So, that's a yes?"_ He started to run faster as the wall got closer. When he was almost close to it, he started to run up the side of the building before leaping off into the air, bending the rules to let him go farther through the air.

"**Of course it's a yes. Get moving already!"** His Bijū all but barked at him.

"_Yes, mother."_ He replied, landing on the side of the building on the other side of the wall. Once he was the roof, he looked down at the mob and flipped them off again with a smile. He could hear the howls and cries of outrage echo behind him as he ran away through the rooftops. _"I guess there weren't any shinobi in that mob."_

"**You should probably be more worried about the Cypherites then the shinobi."**

"_Good point."_ He reached for the wireless and contacted Zehn. "Are there any Cypherites still following me?" He asked without hesitation.

"No, they've seemed to have fallen back." The Operator on the _Outcast_ told him. "And everyone has gotten out, except…" He trailed off.

"Except what?" asked the blonde as he leapt over the gap between two buildings.

"Cherry was worried that you wouldn't make it out, so she stayed behind. But the Agents have located her and are making her run."

He bit back a curse and instead stopped in his tracks. "Where the hell is she?" He demanded,

"Two miles due east of your position, heading in the opposite direction of you," Zehn answered.

"_She wanted to make sure I got out and now she's running in the wrong way? That's original."_ He thought darkly to himself.

"**Stay on track here, kit."** Kurama told him with a sharp tone.

He would've scowled, but there wasn't any time for that. If he kept standing there, Agents would be able to locate him. He concentrated on the map of the village he had created over the years in his mind and mentally pinpointed the path where Cherry was running. When he saw where she was running, he reached for the wireless. "Zehn, can you can get into contact with the _Konoha_?"

"Of course I can." Zehn replied, sounding offended that his skills were being questioned.

"Get them on the line and have them tell Cherry to head to my apartment. I'll meet her there. There's a way out there and she'll need my help to get to it."

"Alright, I will let them know about that."

"Good." He took his hands off of the wireless and turned to his left before taking off. It wasn't long before he reached the building the bordered a street and it didn't stop him. Instead, he freed his mind and bent the rules, letting himself fly over the street to the building on the other side. It was a wide street and even a shinobi would've been hard-pressed to do the same thing.

But he had done it and when he landed, he kept on running. Within minutes, he had reached the building that had once been where he lived. From the outside, it looked like nothing had changed. But that didn't mean the inside was the same. Wasting no time, he leapt up onto the small balcony that his apartment had. Pulling out one of his guns, he opened the door to the apartment.

It seemed like no one really been in here since he had been exiled. Everything looked exactly the same as he had left it the last time he had been in here. There was a thick coat of dust on everything that had a surface (he was leaving footprints on the floor). _"That may be a problem."_ He thought to himself as he made his way quickly over to the front door. Once there, he waited.

He didn't have to wait long. Within a minute, there was a fist banging on the door and a quick look proved it to be Cherry. "How far behind are the Agents?" He asked her as he opened the door.

"I don't know. They kept jumping to keep up with me." She answered as she stepped through. "I had to keep changing my appearance with the **Henge no Jutsu** to fool them, but it probably won't last long."

"Do you know any low rank Wind Style jutsus?"

She looked a little confused by that question. "No, I don't. Why?"

"Kami take it." He muttered to himself before reaching for the wireless. "Zehn, I need a D-rank Wind Style jutsu that's more inclined for house cleaning instead of fighting."

"Accessing the Wind Style section now, hold on." The Operator replied, already sounding busy looking for it.

The information came into his head within a matter of seconds. He knew his eyes were fluttering rapidly as his mind processed the information. When he had all the information properly processed, he created a clone without any hesitation. "Get to work." He ordered the clone, who nodded once and walked away into the other room. "Follow me." He told Cherry.

She did and followed him into the bathroom. "Um…what are we doing in here?" She asked him, looking around in confusion. She could not see how a normal bathroom would help them.

"Just hold on." He knelt down by the wall next to the bathtub, tracing his hand over it and looking for something. He found it, a small button, and pressed down on it. The portion of the wall retracted upward, revealing a tube that was slightly larger than a child. "Damn, forgot about that." He muttered before turning to look at Cherry. "Transform yourself into a child." He ordered her, his hands already preparing themselves.

She didn't asked why, she just did as ordered. The two of them transformed into their younger selves, smoke filling the bathroom. She watched as the younger Cloak grabbed the edge of the tube and flung himself into it. Seeing no other way but to follow him, she did the same thing and flung herself into the tube.

It turned out to be a slide of all things. After she had flung herself in, it dropped and she slid down with it. It was a fast, wild kind of slide. The kind of feeling about a slide one would only get when one was a child. And even thought she wasn't a child, she still felt it and enjoyed it. If things weren't so serious, she might've screamed with excitement. The slide twisted, turned, and looped around, all the while still going downwards.

When it finally ended, she landed on some very dusty padding. She felt a little disoriented for a moment, but when she wasn't, she looked around and saw that they were underground. "Where are we?" She asked. It was a small area, with a table and a mattress in it. A door was in the wall to her right and to left was a current of water.

"We're in a clean part of the sewers." Cloak told her. He had already undone the jutsu and was back to his actual age. He was also standing in a specific spot by the current, fiddling with the wireless. "The Sandaime had it built for me so I could stay safe from people who would want to do me harm."

"Have you ever used it?" She asked, already undoing the jutsu.

He threw her a look. "Where do you think I spent the majority of my early birthdays?" He turned his attention back to the wireless. "Zehn, Zehn, can you hear me?" He asked aloud.

"Yeah, I can hear you." The Operator of the _Outcast_ replied. His voice sounded scratchy and there was a lot of static hissing when he spoke.

"There's an exit down here. Can you access it?" Cherry looked around for the exit Cloak spoke of and found it quickly enough. It was an old TV, and she had seen enough to know if one was old or not. It sat on the edge of the table, but it wasn't close enough to fall off.

"Hold on, the signal is weak and old. And it's heavily protected. It's going to take time to reconfigure it into to a proper exit. You'll have to stay there until it's done."

Cloak bit back a snarl and a curse. "How long will it take?"

"I don't know. You'll have to stay put." The line went dead, leaving the two of them alone in the sewer hideout of old.

"Kami take it." He muttered to himself.

"**Just be patient, gaki."** Kurama told him. **"If I remember correctly, you're quite good at that."**

"_Oh, shut up, furball."_ He said in reply. This was not something he wanted. He knew full well that he or Cherry were safe for the time being, provided they didn't move from this area. He was stuck here with a person that made him unsure of things as they stood and he didn't know whether he was going to be happy for that or not.

"Are we going to be okay here?" He heard Cherry ask him.

Reluctantly, he turned to face her. "The Sandaime kept this place secret from all but a few people and they knew their life was forfeit if they revealed its location. I don't know if the Agents know about it, but with any luck we'll be gone by the time they find it."

"That's good to hear." She said.

"_You would think so."_ He thought to himself. The two of them were going to be there for a while and odds are they would start talking to one another, just like in the caverns beneath New Zion. And he was hoping that nothing drastic would be said while they were here.

**End**

**Author's note:** Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

And now, the flashbacks begin. With any luck, it'll help give enough backstory to satisfy you guys. If not, oh well.

I've tried to moderate Sakura in the flashbacks so she wouldn't seem completely like the Fangirl I had portrayed her in the first chapter. In my defense, that had been the first chapter I had ever posted and I had been reading a lot of stories that had made her out to be a Fangirl at the time, so that may have come across.

Despite what some people may think (and write about), I believe that Jiraiya is a complex person. Sure, he's a Super Pervert, but he's honest about it. And he's Naruto's godfather; somehow I don't think he would actually approve of what they had done to him. That was why he confessed right away during the meeting with the Council elders.

If you think about it, he had been in the same place Naruto had been in when he was still with the village regarding his team. So he would take it upon himself to show Sakura what she had missed when she was a Fangirl for Sasuke.

I have looked at the poll regarding this story and I must say, I was expecting it to go the other way. I'm glad that there are readers out there who want this story to continue. I just wish that you would show it. If you have something to say about the story, please, say it. If I didn't want to criticism about what I write, I wouldn't be learning as a writer.

However, I also have Lord know how many ideas banging around in my head and there's one that's become rather insistent to be let out. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to write the next chapter of Misplaced but after that, I'll write the first chapter of the new idea. This will go on for five chapters and then I will go back to Woken from exile.

I'll see you all next chapter!


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